Central nervous system disease in patients with macrophagic myofasciitis

Abstract

Macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF), a condition newly recognized in France, is manifested by diffuse myalgias and characterized by highly specific myopathological alterations which have recently been shown to represent an unusually persistent local reaction to intramuscular injections of aluminium-containing vaccines. Among 92 MMF patients recognized so far, eight of them, which included the seven patients reported here, had a symptomatic demyelinating CNS disorder. CNS manifestations included hemisensory or sensorimotor symptoms (four out of seven), bilateral pyramidal signs (six out of seven), cerebellar signs (four out of seven), visual loss (two out of seven), cognitive and behavioural disorders (one out of seven) and bladder dysfunction (one out of seven). Brain T(2)-weighted MRI showed single (two out of seven) or multiple (four out of seven) supratentorial white matter hyperintense signals and corpus callosum atrophy (one out of seven). Evoked potentials were abnormal in four out of six patients and CSF in four out of seven. According to Poser's criteria for multiple sclerosis, the diagnosis was clinically definite (five out of seven) or clinically probable multiple sclerosis (two out of seven). Six out of seven patients had diffuse myalgias. Deltoid muscle biopsy showed stereotypical accumulations of PAS (periodic acid-Schiff)-positive macrophages, sparse CD8+ T cells and minimal myofibre damage. Aluminium-containing vaccines had been administered 3-78 months (median = 33 months) before muscle biopsy (hepatitis B virus: four out of seven, tetanus toxoid: one out of seven, both hepatitis B virus and tetanus toxoid: two out of seven). The association between MMF and multiple sclerosis-like disorders may give new insights into the controversial issues surrounding vaccinations and demyelinating CNS disorders. Deltoid muscle biopsy searching for myopathological alterations of MMF should be performed in multiple sclerosis patients with diffuse myalgias.

Peripheral Sympathetic Nerve Dysfunction in Adolescent Japanese Girls Following Immunization with the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine

“…Our morphologic study results for the intradermal nerves obtained from affected limbs that showed endoneurial edema and selective degeneration of unmyelinated fibers coincided well with the findings mentioned above. One important disease that must be differentiated from CRPS-I in vaccinated patients is macrophagic myofasciitis (27,28). This disorder develops as an unusual reaction to the intramuscular injection of aluminium-containing vaccines and is characterized by common manifestations of diffuse myalgia and arthralgia, as well as elevated levels of serum CK and CRP.…”

Low levels of aluminum can lead to behavioral and morphological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease and age-related neurodegeneration

“…In consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee has recognized that there may be a subset of predisposed individuals who may be sensitive to Al adjuvants (Authier et al, 2001). Overall, there is good evidence that high levels of aluminum exposure can have adverse effects on human health.…”

Discontinuation of BCG Vaccination Precedes Significant Drop in Type 2 Diabetes in Japanese Children. Role of Inflammation and Cortisol Activity as a Cause of Type 2 Diabetes

“…Vaccines have been shown to stimulate the immune system and can cause chronic inflammation [21,22]. Vaccines have been shown to cause cortisol release [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”