# 2322
One of the nice things about having my own blog is I can sometimes veer away from Avian flu and refer my readers to something else I think may be of interest.
And when I can plug something a friend has produced, so much the better.
Maryn McKenna is one of the hardest working science writers in the business. She was given extraordinary access inside the CDC for her 2004 non-fiction book Beating Back The Devil, is a contributing writer for CIDRAP, is working on a book about MRSA, and in her spare time pens the occasional freelance article.
This month Maryn has an article on a medical mystery, Morgellon's Syndrome, which appears in the October issue of Self Magazine.
The hallmark of Morgellon's syndrome are exhaustion, body aches, and brain fog, along with skin lesions and `long filaments or fibers' extruding from the skin.
Bizarre symptoms that have led many doctors to suspect a psychiatric cause. The CDC, however, isn't so sure and is conducting research into the malady.
As one who has dealt with chronic Lyme disease (misdiagnosed, and improperly treated for 7 years), I have great empathy for anyone suffering from a poorly understood or unaccepted disease.
Lyme disease today is considered one of the fastest growing emerging infectious diseases in the country, but when I contracted it back in the early 1990's, few doctors knew about it and the testing was far less sensitive.
The Morgellon's story is fascinating, and I am particularly intrigued by the suspected Lyme-Morgellon's connection. I look forward to seeing more research on this subject.
Maryn, as always, does a terrific job with her article on the syndrome.
Heartily recommended.
