Morgellon’s syndrome: evidence of a microorganism causing an unexplained dermopathy

136 Pages·2010·6.733 MB·English

by  Conroy, David

Morgellon's Syndrome
Evidence of a Microorganism Causing an
Unexplained Dermopathy

Morgellon’s Syndrome
Evidence of a Microorganism Causing an
Unexplained Dermopathy
Dr. David Conroy MD, LLM
Lansdowne Medical Clinic
Toronto
Canada
Science Publishers
Enfi eld (NH) Jersey Plymouth
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Preface
There are thousands of people diagnosed with delusional parasitosis by physicians.
The treatment involves an antipsychotic medication with many serious adverse
effects some of them potentially fatal. Many of the people affl icted with this
disease reject the diagnosis believing that their symptoms are caused by an as of
yet unidentifi ed microorganism.
The book proposes that perhaps there is more to the pathophysiology of persons
diagnosed with delusional parasitosis than delusions brought on by mental illness
and stimulant drug use. It shows several phenomena that constitute evidence that
there is microorganism that may be responsible for many cases of unexplained
dermopathies.
The book is accompanied by a DVD containing all of the photographs and
videos referred to in the book. The reader is encouraged to download the DVD and
use photograph and video software to magnify the photographs and to perform
their own frame by frame analysis of the videos. I used the Sony Picture Utility
software provided with my camera.
It is hoped that some more defi nitive research is performed using the
information presented in my book. I performed my investigation on my own
dime with nothing but a camera, a microscope and dogged determination. The
importance of investigating the cause of unexplained dermopathies by a well-
funded institution is clear - the diagnosis of having a mental illness is one of the
hardest diagnoses to live with and especially unjust if it is wrong.
David Conroy

Contents
Preface v
Introduction ix
1. Why the Investigation was Started 1
2. Materials and Methodology 5
3. Evidence not Recorded on Videotape 7
4. Th e Phenomenon of the Disappearing Hair Follicles 11
5. Particles Entering the Eyes 27
6. Particles Exiting the Eyes 41
7. A Substance that Transverses the Optic Globe 47
8. Th e Irregular Iris 57
9. Particles that Exit the Feet 59
10. Particles that Enter the Feet 75
11. Th e Microorganism Mobility–An Internal Propulsion System 87
12. Green Feet Illuminate the Role of the Epidermis in the Life-Cycle
of the Microorganism 95
13. Coated Hairs under the Microscope 97
14. Th e Micro Organism Possibly Growing on a Piece of Cocaine 105
15. A Summary of the Observations 107
16. Th e Structure of the Microorganism 113
17. A Model Accounting for the Observed Phenomena 115
18. Is Th ere a Cure? 119
19. Future Considerations: A Microorganism as an Etiology for
Delusional Parasitosis 121

Introduction
Every so oft en, scientifi c knowledge undergoes a revision. What was once thought
to be true is cast into doubt and sometimes new knowledge replaces the old. Th is
may be the eventual fate of delusional parasitosis.
Prior to 1994, peptic ulcers were thought to be caused by the hypersecretion of
gastric acid caused by increased but normal physiologic processes. Th e accepted
causes at the time of the hypersecretion of gastric acid included caff eine, spices,
alcohol, cigarette smoke and psychological stress. In 1982, Australian physicians
Robin Warren and Barry Marshall cultured Helicobacter pylori on a forgotten Petri
dish. To fi nally silence skeptics, Marshall drank a beaker of Helicobacter pylori to
demonstrate the role of this bacteria in the pathophysiology of gastritis and peptic
ulcers. Th en in 1994, the National Institutes of Health (USA) recognized that most
cases of gastric ulcers were caused by Helicobacter pylori. Warren and Marshall
were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005 for their eff orts.1
Th e high prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma, a form of dermatological cancer,
in AIDS patients pointed to a viral etiology, prompting research into a possible
causative agent. Th en in 1994, Kaposi’s sarcoma was determined to be caused by
Human herpesvirus 8 (now known as Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus or
KSHV) by a team of Columbia University researchers.2
It is now time to reconsider the etiology of some or possibly all the cases of
delusional parasitosis. Aft er a 15 month investigation, evidence of a microorganism
being the causative agent may have been discovered. Whether or not this
microorganism turns out to be the etiology of all cases of this disease, it is most
likely the cause of some of the cases, particularly in those cases involving cocaine
users.
Delusional parasitosis is defi ned as “a form of psychosis of false belief, a “loss
of contact with reality”. In delusional parasitosis, suff erers have a strong delusional
belief that they are infested with parasites, whereas in reality no such parasites are
present.”3 Th ese patients present to dermatologists with specimens consisting of
1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori
2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaposi’s_sarcoma
3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusional_parasitosis