The Risks of Gadolinium use in MRIs
Gadolinium is a chemical element that used as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRAs). It is injected into your bloodstream, illuminates, and thus helps physicians identify the problem areas in your body when you undergo these medical tests. Approved for use by the FDA in 1988, medical professionals began to use gadolinium instead of iodine contrast agents because the latter were sometimes quite dangerous, causing kidney failure or severe allergic reactions. Unfortunately, gadolinium also turned out to have life-threatening problems. If you suspect you have been exposed to gadolinium in a medical test, contact a Boston or Washington DC injury attorney to learn about your rights.
A group of 420 nationwide, gadolinium-related lawsuits were consolidated over the past couple years, and the trials began earlier in the year in the federal district court in Cleveland, Ohio. The plaintiffs allege that there are safer ways to make contrast agents that do not release gadolinium into patients, yet some companies opted not to employ these methods.
Gadolinium Exposure Symptoms
Two conditions allegedly caused by the use of gadolinium as a contrast agent in MRIs and MRAs include nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) or nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD), for which there is no known cure.
Some of the symptoms of NSF and NFD are:
- Burning
- Itching
- Hardening and thickening of the skin
- Stiffness of joints and trouble straightening any limbs
- Bone pain
- Muscle weakness
- Extensive pain, deep in the hips or ribs
- Dark patches on the skin
- Yellow spots on the white of your eyes
Gadolinium marketing names include Omniscan by GE Healthcare, OptiMARK by Mallinckrodt/Tyco Healthcare, Magnevist by Bayer/Schering AG/Berlex, ProHance by Bracco Diagnostics, and MultiHance by Bracco Diagnostics.
The FDA has issued a black box warning, its strongest possible safety warning, which points out the risk gadolinium poses to patients with kidney problems. Patients who ended up developing NSF or NDF had moderate to complete kidney failure. Symptoms may appear anywhere from within two days of gadolinium exposure to a year and half afterwards, and the dosage has varied as well, from a single dose to higher dosages.
Contact a Washington DC or Boston injury lawyer at Pollack & Flanders LLP if you have been exposed to gadolinium and want to obtain compensation for your injuries and suffering.