Link between MRI contrast agent and Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
Research has shown a possible association between a popular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent and the incidence of a rare disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with kidney disease, according to an editorial appearing in the March issue of Radiology. "We recommend avoiding the use of gadodiamide in patients with any degree of renal disease," said Phillip H. Kuo, M.D., Ph.D., assistant clinical professor of diagnostic radiology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. "At this point, the data clearly show the vast majority of NSF cases are associated with the use of gadodiamide." Approximately 400 cases of NSF have been reported worldwide. While gadolinium-based agents have not been definitively shown to cause NSF, as many as 90 percent of known NSF patients had previously received gadodiamide, and a recent survey of approximately 100 NSF patients revealed that more than 95 percent were exposed to a gadolinium agent within two to three months prior to disease onset. Other evidence linking gadolinium with NSF includes residual gadolinium in a skin biopsy of an NSF patient 11 months after the contrast agent was administered. Studies investigating the relationship between NSF and gadolinium are currently underway at Yale, as well as the Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the medical regulatory agencies of the European Union. In the meantime, the FDA advises cautionary use of all gadolinium-based contrast agents in patients with moderate to advanced renal disease.
Continue reading "Link between MRI contrast agent and Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis" »
