Health insurers eagerly awaiting answers as CDC launches study of bizarre 'illness'.The Centers for Disease Control hopes to find answers to an "unexplained skin condition" affecting thousands of people whose symptoms sound like something out of a science fiction movie, prompting health insurers to ask whether the ailment will be deemed a physical illness, mental disorder mental disorder Any illness with a psychological origin, manifested either in symptoms of emotional distress or in abnormal behaviour. Most mental disorders can be broadly classified as either psychoses or neuroses (see neurosis; psychosis). Psychoses (e.g. or maybe both. The CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation recently launched a study to learn about the mysterious illness, known as Morgellons, in conjunction with Kaiser Permanente's northern California Division of Research. People suffering from the condition report nonhealing skin lesions Skin Lesions Definition A skin lesion is a superficial growth or patch of the skin that does not resemble the area surrounding it. Description Skin lesions can be grouped into two categories: primary and secondary. from which fibrous "solid material" emerges. Patients also report abnormal skin sensations, short-term memory short-term memory n. Abbr. STM The phase of the memory process in which stimuli that have been recognized and registered are stored briefly. loss and difficulty concentrating, the CDC said. Candice Han, a spokeswoman for the Morgellons Research Foundation The Morgellons Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2002 by biologist Mary Leitao to study a medical syndrome she labeled Morgellons disease. , described the symptoms as a "crawling, biting, stinging sensation" that results in sores on a person's skin. Red and blue fibers then emerge from the wounds, she said. Its cause is a mystery. About 12,000 Americans are afflicted af·flict tr.v. af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on. [Middle English afflighten, from afflight, with the illness, with the greatest concentration currently in California, Texas and Florida, experts say. Kaiser Permanente's research division won the $338,000 contract because it's located in an area where a sizeable number of self-reported cases are concentrated, the agency said. The health plan covers about 30% of the population in northern California. The study's goals are to better understand the clinical and epidemiological aspects of Morgellons, and identify its possible risk factors. The CDC said the study will first recruit participants and collect information on their symptoms and possible factors contributing to their illness. Later, participants will undergo a general medical examination, a dermatologic exam, a mental health exam, skin biopsies and several blood tests. When people with Morgellons symptoms go to their doctor or dermatologist, they are usually diagnosed with delusions of parasitosis par·a·si·to·sis n. pl. par·a·si·to·ses Infestation with parasites. parasitosis a disease caused by a parasitic infestation. See also helminthiasis. , a condition in which patients believe they have parasites under their skin, said Dave Daigle, a CDC spokesman. Countered Randy Wymore, associate professor of pharmacology and director of Oklahoma State University's Center for the Investigation of Morgellons Disease: "We have physical evidence that this is a physical disease." |
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