I find it distrubing that Kaiser acknowledged within the text of the study that they had been diagnosing members with Morgellons as delusional for many years, as I see no evidence in the study that the patients were delusional. The study would have had more credibility if the group studying the patients had not already formed an opinion of the diagnosis.

The study repeatedly refers to fabrics and cotton fibers, but omits any mention of the fact that fabrics and cotton fibers have changed dramatically over the past 10 to 15 years- roughly the timeframe of the majority of reported first symptoms. Many fabrics (anti-bacterial, Spandex) and personal care products (sunscreen, cosmetics) worn or used on the skin now contain nano scale materials. A Google search today for "nanotech in fabrics" produced 2,350,000 results. Since the study describes the fibers as being from fabrics, whether or not the fibers were from fabrics with new nano materials could be relevant.

With respect to the references to cotton fibers found, London based Institute of Science in Society reported on 4/18/06 that people in India harvesting, loading, weighting, ginning and storing Bt (genetically engineered) cotton are developing intensely itchy skin rashes. They did not get these rashes handling non-Bt cotton. Bt cotton contains an inseceticide, and is now widely used in cotton goods (clothing, cotton swabs, medical dressings) sold in the USA.
Because an intensely itching skin rash is one of the symptoms of Morgellons, and cotton fibers were found, it would be appropriate to examine the cotton fibers the study found to determine if they are from genetically engineered Bt cotton. Ref: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/M...

Also, the study mentions 80+ proteins found and examined, but did not name the proteins. Developers of a genetically engineered pea in Australia found that the pea produced an immune system response in mice, when exactly the same protein from a non-GMO bean did not create a response.
(Ref: V. E. Prescott, et al, Transgenic Expression of Bean r-Amylase Inhibitor in Peas Results in Altered Structure and Immunogenicity, J. Agric. Food Chem. 2005, 53)
They concluded that when sugar chains are added to proteins, this process, known as glycosylation, can influence allergic responses. The team used the sensitive MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry technique, and confirmed that the GM and non-GM proteins had slightly different glycosylation patterns. They believe that these subtle differences may be the cause of the immune responses. The GE pea was never marketed because of the risk of allergic reaction, but none of the GE foods approved and released in the USA are required to conduct this type of study. If the identical protein can create an allergic reaction in a GE food, but produce no reaction in a non-GE food, clearly what the protein is, and whether it is being produced in GE foods consumed in the USA, could be relevant to a skin condition similar to hives (itchy rash).

As a result of these new technologies; new nano fabrics, new foods and new materials in skin care product ingredients, saying that the skin artifacts were fabric and cotton fibers isn't enough. More relevant study questions would be: Were these fibers from nanotech fabrics and/or genetically engineered cotton fibers? and, Were the proteins found and examined from GE foods?