Macrophagic myofasciitis and vaccination: Consequence or coincidence?

Abstract

Macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) characterized by specific muscle lesions assessing long-term persistence of aluminum hydroxide within macrophages at the site of previous immunization has been reported with increasing frequency in the past 10 years. We describe clinical and laboratory findings in patients with MMF. We did a retrospective analysis of 16 cases observed in our Neuropathology Laboratory, between January 2000 and July 2013. The mean age of the 16 patients was 48.8 ± 18.0 years; 80.0 % were female. Chronic fatigue syndrome was found in 8 of 16 patients. Half of the patients had elevated creatinine kinase levels, and 25.0 % had a myopathic electromyogram. Thirteen patients received intramuscular administration of aluminum-containing vaccine prior to the onset of symptoms. MMF may mirror a distinctive pattern of an inflammatory myopathy. The vaccines containing this adjuvant may trigger MMF in some patients.

Childhood macrophagic myofasciitis: A series from the Indian subcontinent

“…Because MMF is an emerging condition, not much is known about its optimal management and prognosis, especially in children. A few reports of partial responses to steroids and intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) with improvement in neuromuscular symptoms have been reported . Santiago et al reported a response to steroids in 1 of their 5 patients .…”

“…A few reports of partial responses to steroids and intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) with improvement in neuromuscular symptoms have been reported . Santiago et al reported a response to steroids in 1 of their 5 patients . The single patient treated with steroids and IVIG in the series by Rivas et al recovered partially from his neuromuscular symptoms .…”

Non-linear dose-response of aluminium hydroxide adjuvant particles: Selective low dose neurotoxicity

“…However, as other effective medical compounds, vaccines may occasionally cause adverse effects. In particular, a condition manifesting by the combination of myalgia, arthralgia, chronic fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, dysautonomia and autoimmunity has been temporally linked to aluminium adjuvant-containing vaccine administration, called Macrophagic Myofasciitis (MMF) Authier et al, 2003;Exley et al, 2009;Rosenblum et al, 2011;Santiago et al, 2014;Brinth et al, 2015;Palmieri et al, 2016).…”

FDG-PET/CT Brain Findings in a Patient With Macrophagic Myofasciitis

“…Clinical manifestations associated with MMF typically include arthromyalgias, chronic fatigue, and a cognitive dysfunction, occurring several months or years after the last vaccine injection combining impaired verbal long-term memory, dysexecutive syndrome, and more rarely an alteration of dichotic listening [3][4][5][6]. Only a very limited number of functional studies using the Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) technique have investigated these cognitive disorders.…”