Macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) is a

histopathological Histopathology (compound of three Greek language, Greek words: 'tissue', 'suffering', and ''-logy, -logia'' 'study of') is the light microscope, microscopic examination of Tissue (biology), tissue in order to study the manifestations of dis ...

finding involving inflammatory

microphage Neutrophils are a type of phagocytic white blood cell and part of innate immunity. More specifically, they form the most abundant type of granulocytes and make up 40% to 70% of all white blood cells in humans. Their functions vary in different ...

formations with aluminium-containing crystal inclusions and associated microscopic muscle

necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. The term "necrosis" came about in the mid-19th century and is commonly attributed to German pathologist Rudolf Virchow, who i ...

biopsy A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, an interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiology, interventional cardiologist. The process involves the extraction of sampling (medicine), sample ...

samples of the

deltoid muscle The deltoid muscle is the muscle forming the rounded contour of the shoulder, human shoulder. It is also known as the 'common shoulder muscle', particularly in other animals such as the domestic cat. Anatomically, the deltoid muscle is made up o ...

. 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 In pharmacology, an adjuvant is a drug or other substance, or a combination of substances, that is used to increase the efficacy or potency of certain drugs. Specifically, the term can refer to: * Adjuvant therapy in cancer management * Anal ...

-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. 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 The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

has concluded that " ere is no evidence to suggest that MMF is a specific illness", and that " e current evidence neither establishes nor excludes a generalized disorder affecting other organs." __TOC__

Description

According to the WHO, "There is no evidence to suggest that MMF is a specific illness. MMF is a lesion containing aluminium salts, identified by histopathological examination, found at the site of previous vaccination with an aluminium-containing vaccine".

References

{{Reflist Muscular disorders Vaccination Rare diseases Alternative diagnoses Pseudoscience