OSU researcher on trail of mysterious disease

Thursday, June 1, 2006

Dr. Randy S. Wymore, an Oklahoma State University researcher studying a mysterious skin illness called Morgellons disease, is assuring people with the disease that they are not delusional, as some have accused.

Wymore, assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology at the OSU Center for Health Sciences and College of Osteopathic Medicine, said the strange skin lesions that appear with Morgellons disease are also not environmental contaminants. 

The symptoms included strange white or red "fibers" sprouting from skin lesions, sores that would not heal and "white granules and black specks" appearing on patients' skin. Sufferers also reported chronic fatigue, insomnia, night sweats and constant itching. Wymore confirms there are also nervous system effects that include behavioral changes, cognitive changes and (pain and numbness in extremities)."