Principi, Nicola, Esposito, Susanna · Vaccine · 2018 · DOI
This review examined whether aluminum in vaccines could cause serious health problems, particularly in children. The researchers looked at existing research on aluminum's effects on the nervous system and found no clear evidence that aluminum in vaccines causes brain damage. However, they noted that a possible link between certain aluminum-containing vaccines and two conditions—macrophagic myofascitis and ME/CFS—needs further investigation before firm conclusions can be made.
This review is particularly relevant to ME/CFS patients because it explicitly identifies a potential link between aluminum-containing vaccines and ME/CFS as an area requiring further study. For the ME/CFS research community, it highlights an important knowledge gap and underscores the need for rigorous investigations into vaccine components and post-vaccination symptom onset in susceptible populations.
This review does not establish that aluminum in vaccines causes ME/CFS or macrophagic myofascitis—it only identifies these as areas needing further research. The authors do not provide new experimental evidence, mechanistic data, or epidemiological studies; they summarize existing knowledge and identify gaps. The study does not determine whether observed associations, if they exist, would represent causation versus coincidental timing.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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Primary citation
Principi, Nicola & Esposito, Susanna (2018). Aluminum in vaccines: Does it create a safety problem?. Vaccine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.08.036
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-principi-2018-aluminum-vaccines,
author = {Principi, Nicola and Esposito, Susanna},
title = {Aluminum in vaccines: Does it create a safety problem?},
journal = {Vaccine},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.08.036},
note = {PubMed: 30139653},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/principi-2018-aluminum-vaccines},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/principi-2018-aluminum-vaccines
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