Rigolet, Muriel, Aouizerate, Jessie, Couette, Maryline et al. · Frontiers in neurology · 2014 · DOI
This study describes macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF), a condition where aluminum from vaccines persists in muscle tissue and causes long-lasting symptoms similar to ME/CFS, including widespread pain, severe fatigue, and significant problems with thinking and memory. Patients show patterns of brain abnormalities on imaging scans, and their cognitive problems appear to be caused by brain dysfunction rather than just pain or depression. The researchers found that standard treatments don't work well for these patients, making their condition particularly disabling.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS research because it describes a potential mechanistic pathway—focal aluminum persistence triggering systemic immune activation—that could contribute to the cognitive, immunological, and neurological abnormalities observed in ME/CFS. Understanding MMF may help researchers identify environmental or immunological triggers in ME/CFS and develop better diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for conditions characterized by post-vaccination symptom onset.
This study does not prove that aluminum causes ME/CFS or that most ME/CFS cases involve vaccine-related mechanisms. It does not establish causality between aluminum persistence and cognitive dysfunction, only correlation observed in MMF patients. The findings also do not demonstrate that standard ME/CFS treatments would be ineffective broadly, as this is specific to MMF presentation.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Rigolet, Muriel, Aouizerate, Jessie, Couette, Maryline, Ragunathan-Thangarajah, Nilusha, Aoun-Sebaiti, Mehdi, Gherardi, Romain Kroum, et al. (2014). Clinical features in patients with long-lasting macrophagic myofasciitis.. Frontiers in neurology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2014.00230
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rigolet-2014-clinical-features,
author = {Rigolet, Muriel and Aouizerate, Jessie and Couette, Maryline and Ragunathan-Thangarajah, Nilusha and Aoun-Sebaiti, Mehdi and Gherardi, Romain Kroum and Cadusseau, Josette and Authier, François Jérôme},
title = {Clinical features in patients with long-lasting macrophagic myofasciitis.},
journal = {Frontiers in neurology},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.3389/fneur.2014.00230},
note = {PubMed: 25506338},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rigolet-2014-clinical-features},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rigolet-2014-clinical-features
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