ScienceBlogs Channel : Medicine & Health

Still more evidence that Morgellons disease is most likely delusional parasitosis, 2012 edition [Respectful Insolence]
Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) in the bloodstream can interfere with vaccine response [erv]
$#*! skeptics say [Respectful Insolence]

Still more evidence that Morgellons disease is most likely delusional parasitosis, 2012 edition [Respectful Insolence]

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 12:00 AM PST

It's been nearly a year since I last discussed a most unusual malady. Part of the reason is that the opportunity to discuss it hasn't occurred recently; usually I need some spark or incident to "inspire" me to write about something, and there just hasn't been any Morgellons news that's caught my eye since 2010. However, another part of the reason, I must admit, is that writing about this particular condition almost always brings sufferers out of the woodwork, castigating me the way antivaccinationists like to castigate me for challenging the scientific basis of their preferred pseudoscience. I catch enough hostility from the antivaccine contingent. Before I'm reading to leap into a fray that's likely to bring more hostility--who knows? I might even be graced by a visit from a certain particularly loony advocate of this condition--my way from an entirely different contingent of woo-meisters. On the other hand, sometimes I need a change of pace, a new area to look at the application of science-based medicine to health and disease.

I'm referring, of course, to Morgellons disease. To recap (for those of you who are familiar with the condition) or to provide some background (for those of you who are not), people suffering (or claiming to suffer) from this condition complain of an intense itching, and the condition is characterized by a number of primary symptoms. These include:

Sponanteously Erupting Skin lesions
Sensation of crawling, biting on and under the skin
Appearance of blue, black or red fibers and granules beneath and/or extruding from the skin
Fatigue
Short-term memory loss
Attention Deficit, Bipolar or Obsessive-Compulsive disorders
Impaired thought processing (brain fog)
Depression and feelings of isolation

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Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) in the bloodstream can interfere with vaccine response [erv]

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST

Non-stick pans, water-proof clothing, stain-proof carpet, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags, the air outdoors, the air indoors-- if youve ever been exposed to these things, you have been exposed to 'Perfluorinated Compounds' (PFCs).

Because the most common PFCs have a relatively long half-life (~4 years!), and because weve basically all been exposed, you can find PFCs in the blood of about 90% of us here in the US. Its ubiquitous. And, like with a lot of things, 'some' isnt that big of a deal, but 'more' can cause problems. The questions are where that 'some' to 'more' threshold is, and what kinds of problems can emerge.

A rather unexpected correlation emerged today in JAMA:

Serum Vaccine Antibody Concentrations in Children Exposed to Perfluorinated Compounds

Previous research indicated that PFCs had a negative impact on the immune systems of mice. How can we find out if they have a negative impact on humans? We cant inject humans with PFCs and cut out their spleens to study their white blood cells. But mice arent humans-- maybe what they saw was an artifact of 'mice' and PFCs have no impact on humans.

'Maybe' isnt good enough. So, this group of scientists went to a place where the folks eat a lot of fish (a common source of PFCs, so, if youve eaten fish, welcome to the 90%). Then they did two things:
1-- Looked at the immune response of kids (5 years old) to tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, and correlated it with the blood PFC concentration of their moms in pregnancy.
2-- Looked at the memory antibody response (aka how much the kids were protected from the pathogen) two years later (7 years old), and correlated it with their blood PFC concentration.

The higher the PFC concentration, the worse the kids reacted to the vaccines.

Enter media circus, stage left. And some of the circus was fuels by the lead author of this study himself, Dr. Philippe Grandjean.

"When the PFC concentration increases in the body, the immune system gets more sluggish and is less capable of maintaining a defense mechanism against microorganism"

You dont have data to support that statement in your paper. And wtf is 'immune system gets more sluggish'? That is a meaningless phrase. Talk like a grown up, people are not stupid.

Although the findings don't prove the chemicals themselves are harming the immune system, Grandjean said he thought that is "very likely" to be the case.

And Judy Mikovits thought XMRV was 'very likely' to cause CFS. We dont say things to the public without evidence to back it up, Grandjean.

"I don't feel comfortable with the compounds for myself and my family and would rather eliminate them," he told Reuters Health.

*frown*

He added that parents might want to avoid microwave popcorn, and treatment of furniture, carpets and clothing with stain repellants to reduce their family's exposure to PFCs.

*double-frown-all-the-way*

Say it with me everyone: Correlation does not equal causation.

What Grandjean has is a very interesting observation. The biochemical and physiological ins-and-outs of that observation are still unknown. He did not do studies with microorganisms-- he did studies with vaccines. Maybe there is some genetic quirk that has a negative effect on processing PFCs that also disturbs immune function. Maybe exposure to PFCs interferes with vaccine adjuvents (it seems PFCs and alum are in the same size range). Maybe there is something else about eating more fish that is negatively effecting vaccine responses (MERCURY!!!!!WARBLEGARBLE!!!), and PFCs are just a proxy measure that have no direct effect on the phenotype. An innocent correlation without causation, while the real culprit goes unrecognized.

Absolutely, if scientists can turn this observation into a causation, we would then know to keep an eye on PFC exposure and PFC waste in our environment. Of course. But screaming 'WOLF!!!!' when you find a dead goat that may or may not have died from a wolf attack helps no one, and can in fact be a snipe we waste time and money chasing if it turns out the wolf had nothing to do with it. I know youre excited, but be more careful with your statements, Grandjean.

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$#*! skeptics say [Respectful Insolence]

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST

Ha! I must admit, I've said probably about 50% of these things at one time or another, maybe more:

Hmmmm. Maybe I need to come up with new "shit."

Oh, and, by the way, I've been mentioned on PZ's blog more times than I can remember over the last seven years. So there! (Oh, wait. Does that mean PZ won't ever mention me again. Never mind. I take it back.)

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