Morgellons Disease, Joni Mitchell's Mystery Illness, Explained

Joni Mitchell was hospitalized this week — could Morgellons have something to do with it? (Photo: Getty Images/Steve Granitz)

Singer Joni Mitchell is currently hospitalized after being found unconscious in her home earlier this week. While the exact reason for her hospitalization is still not known, it has raised renewed interest in Morgellons disease, a controversial condition the 71-year-old has been outspoken about having.

But just what is Morgellons? It depends who you ask: People with Morgellons say it’s a real condition, characterized by strange fibers coming out of the skin, memory and concentration problems, itchy sores and rashes, and the feeling that there is something moving or biting beneath the skin.

But according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, there is no actual infectious or parasitic cause for these symptoms — and it may instead be psychological. 

The study included examination of 115 people with Morgellons in norther California. The researchers found that the strange fibers coming out of the skin were actually made of cellulose — ”likely of cotton origin,” they write — and “no parasites or mycobacteria were detected.” 

“No common underlying medical condition or infectious source was identified, similar to more commonly recognized conditions such as delusional infestation,” write the authors of the study. Delusional infestation is the false belief by a person that he or she is infested by parasites.

According to the Morgellons Research Foundation, the current number of families affected by Morgellons is greater than 13,000. The Mayo Clinic also points out that the condition most often affects middle-aged white women.

Whether Morgellons is psychosomatic or caused by something that has just yet to be discovered, one thing is clear, though: People with the condition are actually experiencing suffering.

"This is something that needs to be treated," Jason Reichenberg, director of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern-Austin, told USA Today. “It’s really important to discuss that there might be other ways to approach the disease. Until we can find an exact cause or a cure, it’s important that we try to improve their suffering.”

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