Morgellons disease: a filamentous borrelial dermatitis

Abstract

Morgellons disease (MD) is a dermopathy characterized by multicolored filaments that lie under, are embedded in, or project from skin. Although MD was initially considered to be a delusional disorder, recent studies have demonstrated that the dermopathy is associated with tickborne infection, that the filaments are composed of keratin and collagen, and that they result from proliferation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts in epithelial tissue. Culture, histopathological and molecular evidence of spirochetal infection associated with MD has been presented in several published studies using a variety of techniques. Spirochetes genetically identified as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto predominate as the infective agent in most of the Morgellons skin specimens studied so far. Other species of Borrelia including Borrelia garinii, Borrelia miyamotoi, and Borrelia hermsii have also been detected in skin specimens taken from MD patients. The optimal treatment for MD remains to be determined.

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Keywords:

• Morgellons disease
• dermatitis
• Lyme disease
• Borrelia burgdorferi
• spirochetes

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Cindy Casey from the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation, Austin, TX, USA, for providing updated information about MD. Funding for open access publication was provided by the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation, Austin, TX, USA.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.