MRI GBCAs – They’re Bad News
August 19th, 2009. By LucyC
If you or someone you know has advanced kidney disease chances are you have undergone an MRI—very likely more than one. As you probably know, in order for physicians to see things on an MRI the person undergoing the imaging procedure may need to be administered what is called a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA). Problem is, the gadolinium-based agents that are used are linked to serious kidney disease—something called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD).
The health problems resulting from GBCAs were not widely known until around 2006-2007—and even then the average person undergoing an MRI at the time would likely never have heard of NSF/NFD. But the medical community is more aware of the problems, and the Food and Drug Administration acknowledged that there were 200 reports worldwide of NSF/NFD due to patients exposed to various GBCAs in 2006.
Recently, a group of investigators based at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia reviewed a series of controlled clinical trials that examined the association between GBCAs and NSF. The study was published in the May 2009 Issue of Renal and Urology News.
The results strongly indicate a ‘causal relationship’ between GBCAs and NSF. In fact, the researchers wrote in their paper:
“Our analyses suggest a potent and significant association between GBCAs and NSF among patients with advanced CKD.”
They found a significant association in six of the seven studies reviewed. Bottom line, patients exposed to gadolinium were 27 times more likely to develop NSF than those not exposed to GBCAs. That’s serious.
Now, it goes without saying that anyone with advanced kidney disease is already at increased risk for life threatening health problems, so the idea is to reduce the exposure to risk, not increase it. But if the tool being used to detect health issues is in fact causing them—what do you do?
Check out the symptoms, which are numerous. FYI, a doctor at Yale University has written on the signs, symptoms and treatments at the website The International Center for Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy Research.
If you have signs or symptoms of NSF/NFD you may want to explore your legal options. Visit our page on MRI Gadolinium Health Risks.
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