Very interesting. Thanks. Could this be added to
@Jonathan Edwards list of 'ME's' I wonder?
This is another earlier short paper cited by the current one :
Chronic fatigue syndrome in patients with macrophagic myofasciitis
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1002/art.10740/
I'm also sceptical as to whether this 'MMF' theory has any traction amongst the wider scientific community not to mention any subsequent link to systemic disease although the WHO have at least reviewed the evidence at the time (1999) :
"Regarding the potential linkage of the local MMF lesion with systemic disease, the following points were made. MMF lesions have been detected in patients undergoing deltoid muscle biopsies for investigations of diffuse myalgias, arthralgias or muscle weakness, and in whom there is a history of administration of an aluminium-containing vaccine at some time in the past, the interval varying from months to several years. In a proportion of patients there was also evidence of a concurrent autoimmune disorder. Research on the potential association with autoimmune diseases was strongly encouraged.
At present, within the constraints of current knowledge, MMF does not fall within the disease entities of inflammatory myopathy, dermatomyositis, polymyositis, inclusion-body myositis or eosinophilic fasciitis. The current evidence neither establishes nor excludes a generalized disorder affecting other organs.
The small sample size on which these observations are based, together with the absence of data regarding the prevalence of local MMF lesions in the general population after vaccination, makes it difficult to assess potential links between local MMF and systemic disease. A more specific set of criteria and definitions needs to be determined in further epidemiological studies to establish whether there is an association between local MMF lesions and any systemic symptom or condition. The immunological mechanisms which might be involved in transforming a local immune reaction into a systemic disorder are numerous and need further investigation."
http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/committee/reports/october_1999/en/