Macrophagic myofasciitis | |
---|---|
Other names | MMF |
Specialty | Histopathology |
Macrophagic myofasciitis | |
---|---|
Pseudomedical diagnosis | |
Risks | Nocebo |
This article is part of a series on |
Alternative medicine |
---|
Macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) is a histopathological finding involving inflammatory microphage formations with aluminium-containing crystal inclusions and associated microscopic muscle necrosis in biopsy samples of the deltoid muscle. Based on the presence of aluminium and the common practice of administering vaccines into the deltoid, it has been proposed that the abnormalities are a result of immunisation with aluminium adjuvant-containing vaccines. The findings were observed in a minority of persons being evaluated for "diffuse myalgias, arthralgias or muscle weakness" who underwent deltoid muscle biopsies. The individuals had a history of receiving aluminium-containing vaccines, administered months to several years prior to observation of MMF histopathology, however this link is tenuous and unsustainable. [1] [2]
It has been subsequently proposed that macrophagic myofasciitis is in fact a systemic disorder where various diseases develop in association and as consequence of vaccination with aluminium-containing vaccines in susceptible individuals, however, the World Health Organization has concluded that "[t]here is no evidence to suggest that MMF is a specific illness", and that "[t]he current evidence neither establishes nor excludes a generalized disorder affecting other organs." [1] [2]
MMF was first described in 1998 by a consortium of French myopathologists as an emerging condition of unknown cause characterised by a defining lesion observed upon muscle biopsy. MMF was identified in patients affected by myalgia and fatigue. MMF was judged a consequence of a switch to intramuscular injection and the deltoid muscle being the preferred site of both vaccine injection and biopsy in France (while other sites were preferred for biopsy in other countries) and the commencement of HBV vaccination in French adults. Similar lesions could be detected in babies and children upon biopsy of the quadriceps as this is the site of vaccine administration in this group. MMF could also be experimentally reproduced in animals, with regression over time. It has been proposed that in a small portion of the population, vaccination results in persistence of aluminium-compound particles in macrophages in association with myalgia, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction. A MMF disorder has been compared to autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants. [3] [4] A case-controlled study in France found those with MMF were more likely to have received aluminium-containing vaccines. MMF was also associated with fatigue “and related functional limitations", with fatigue more common in the beginning of the malady that led to the biopsy. However, neither myalgia, arthralgia, nor any other symptoms or risk factors were identified as specific to those with MMF. [2]
Many of those with MMF had previously been treated for malaria with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine. [5]
As of 2009, with few exceptions, MMF had only been reported in France. [1]
Myalgia is the medical term for muscle pain. Myalgia is a symptom of many diseases. The most common cause of acute myalgia is the overuse of a muscle or group of muscles; another likely cause is viral infection, especially when there has been no trauma.
Aluminium hydroxide, Al(OH)3, is found in nature as the mineral gibbsite and its three much rarer polymorphs: bayerite, doyleite, and nordstrandite. Aluminium hydroxide is amphoteric, i.e., it has both basic and acidic properties. Closely related are aluminium oxide hydroxide, AlO(OH), and aluminium oxide or alumina, the latter of which is also amphoteric. These compounds together are the major components of the aluminium ore bauxite. Aluminium hydroxide also forms a gelatinous precipitate in water.
Intramuscular injection, often abbreviated IM, is the injection of a substance into a muscle. In medicine, it is one of several methods for parenteral administration of medications. Intramuscular injection may be preferred because muscles have larger and more numerous blood vessels than subcutaneous tissue, leading to faster absorption than subcutaneous or intradermal injections. Medication administered via intramuscular injection is not subject to the first-pass metabolism effect which affects oral medications.
Arthralgia literally means joint pain. Specifically, arthralgia is a symptom of injury, infection, illness, or an allergic reaction to medication.
MeNZB was a vaccine against a specific strain of group B meningococcus, used to control an epidemic of meningococcal disease in New Zealand. Most people are able to carry the meningococcus bacteria safely with no ill effects. However, meningococcal disease can cause meningitis and sepsis, resulting in brain damage, failure of various organs, severe skin and soft-tissue damage, and death.
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an acquired autoimmune disease of the peripheral nervous system characterized by progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms. The disorder is sometimes called chronic relapsing polyneuropathy (CRP) or chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. CIDP is closely related to Guillain–Barré syndrome and it is considered the chronic counterpart of that acute disease. Its symptoms are also similar to progressive inflammatory neuropathy. It is one of several types of neuropathy.
A vaccine-associated sarcoma (VAS) or feline injection-site sarcoma (FISS) is a type of malignant tumor found in cats which has been linked to certain vaccines. VAS has become a concern for veterinarians and cat owners alike and has resulted in changes in recommended vaccine protocols. These sarcomas have been most commonly associated with rabies and feline leukemia virus vaccines, but other vaccines and injected medications have also been implicated.
Cervarix is a vaccine against certain types of cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV).
Tolosa–Hunt syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by severe and unilateral headaches with orbital pain, along with weakness and paralysis (ophthalmoplegia) of certain eye muscles.
In immunology, an adjuvant is a substance that increases or modulates the immune response to a vaccine. The word "adjuvant" comes from the Latin word adiuvare, meaning to help or aid. "An immunologic adjuvant is defined as any substance that acts to accelerate, prolong, or enhance antigen-specific immune responses when used in combination with specific vaccine antigens."
Hepatitis A vaccine is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis A. It is effective in around 95% of cases and lasts for at least twenty years and possibly a person's entire life. If given, two doses are recommended beginning after the age of one. It is given by injection into a muscle. The first hepatitis A vaccine was approved in Europe in 1991, and the United States in 1995. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.
ACAM2000 is a smallpox vaccine manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur Biologics Co. It provides protection against smallpox for people determined to be at high risk for smallpox infection.
Pandemrix is an influenza vaccine for influenza pandemics, such as the 2009 flu pandemic. The vaccine was developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and patented in September 2006.
Tetanus vaccine, also known as tetanus toxoid (TT), is a toxoid vaccine used to prevent tetanus. During childhood, five doses are recommended, with a sixth given during adolescence.
Autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA), or Shoenfeld's syndrome, is a hypothesised autoimmune disorder proposed by Israeli immunologist Yehuda Shoenfeld in 2011. According to Shoenfeld, the syndrome is triggered by exposure to adjuvants and includes four conditions: "post-vaccination symptoms", macrophagic myofasciitis, Gulf war syndrome, sick building syndrome, and siliconosis. Shoenfeld alleges that the syndrome is caused by adjuvants such as silicone, tetramethylpentadecane, pristane, and aluminum. However, causality is difficult to prove because ASIA only occurs in a small fraction of patients exposed to these adjuvants. Additionally, proponents of this theory allege that the disorder can manifest anywhere from 2 days to 23 years after exposure. Shoenfeld has also named Sjögren's syndrome as potentially being another facet of ASIA.
Shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) is "shoulder pain and limited range of motion occurring after the administration of a vaccine intended for intramuscular administration in the upper arm... thought to occur as a result of unintended injection of vaccine antigen or trauma from the needle into and around the underlying bursa of the shoulder".
The Children's Medical Safety Research Institute (CMSRI) was a United States based anti-vaccination group which funded a number of pseudoscientific studies, notably by Christopher Shaw of the University of British Columbia, and his collaborator Lucija Tomljenovic, and by Christopher Exley of Keele University, which purport to link aluminium in vaccines to autism. The studies have been rejected by the World Health Organization and some have been retracted. A claimed "vaccinated vs. unvaccinated" cohort study has also been debunked.
Trastuzumab/hyaluronidase, sold under the brand name Herceptin SC among others, is a fixed-dose combination medication for the treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer in adults. It is a combination of trastuzumab and hyaluronidase.
A vaccine dose contains many ingredients very little of which is the active ingredient, the immunogen. A single dose may have merely nanograms of virus particles, or micrograms of bacterial polysaccharides. A vaccine injection, oral drops or nasal spray is mostly water. Other ingredients are added to boost the immune response, to ensure safety or help with storage, and a tiny amount of material is left-over from the manufacturing process. Very rarely, these materials can cause an allergic reaction in people who are very sensitive to them.
Nanocovax is a Vietnamese COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC. It is a subunit vaccine.