A new research paper published in the journal, Clinical Case Reports, on Saturday, December 4th, 2021, strengthens the role of antibiotics in treating Morgellons disease. The study titled, “Treatment of Morgellons disease with doxycycline” describes a middle-aged Caucasian female who developed symptoms specific to Morgellons after tick exposure following an afternoon picnic in the woods. She was subsequently treated with the antibiotic, Doxycycline, and after completion experienced total remission.
Symptom Confusion
This article demonstrates how common it is for Morgellons patients to confuse their symptoms with parasitic infection as the subject described ‘worms coming out of her skin’ to her primary physician. Contemporary research has demonstrated that these artifacts are actually granulation and projection casts of follicles that have become filled with excess collagen. Because of the microscopic nature of Morgellons, and lack of recognition regarding contemporary research, many patients are left to rationalize the symptoms based on limited knowledge. To further complicate the woman’s interpretation of her own symptoms, she had also found a black insect inside one of her wounds.
Infection Conditions
Apparently, the woman had taken an afternoon picnic with her boyfriend at the time and had lain out in a field of tall grass for several hours. Various deer were reported roaming around the area, and a black insect had been found inside one of her wounds. The insect was immediately discarded however the primary physician was interested in this aspect of her condition specifically. After showing the woman a series of photographs, she was able to identify the black insect she had removed earlier as a tick.
Treatment Postponed
Though the subject described removing a tick and laying in a rural field with visible deer in the vicinity, Lyme testing and treatment was initially postponed, and topical therapies were prescribed by both primary physician and Dermatology. A Lyme disease test was eventually ordered; however, it produced a negative reaction. Following topical treatment failure, a 14-day course of Doxycycline was prescribed and adhered to by the patient. This treatment, though in light of a negative Lyme disease test, resulted in total remission of her skin lesions and cessation of further lesion development. It should be debated if Doxycycline under these circumstances should have been prescribed first over the topical therapies her physician and Dermatologist initially recommended.
Treatment Failure
Though this patient experienced rapid and total remission of Morgellons disease, it should be mentioned that many individuals are not so fortunate. Many patients may have endured several previous short courses of antibiotic treatments through their lives and have now developed treatment resistant infections. Future research must consider what percentage of patients experience remission under the circumstances described in this new case-study and contrast that with patients who experience prolonged disfigurement due to treatment failure.
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