MRI Side Effects: Using Contrasting Agent Gadolinium Can Be Deadly
April 28th, 2008 amy
So many doctors are quick to refer patients in for an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan) without realizing that the procedure may actually cause Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) in kidney patients.
Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) is an often quickly debilitating condition. The first symptoms are usually hardening or thickening of the skin, usually on the arms and legs. But because the disease progresses so quickly and also affects the internal organs, a patient can go from completely mobile to wheelchair-dependent within a few weeks.
For a patient whose kidneys are healthy, the die that is injected into the body prior to the procedure is excreted normally through the body. But for a patient whose kidney function is compromised, the contrasting agent gadolinium can be too much. Sadly, the contrast dyes used in an MRI are often used unnecessarily. They simply make the image clearer, for the doctor’s convenience, so they’re often ordered as standard MRI prep procedure.
Last year, an article published in the medical journal Arthritis & Rheumatism discussed research conducted at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital, which examined the skin of 186 kidney dialysis patients. 25 had developed skin changes symptomatic of NSF. Within two years, 25 of the 186 patients had died. The overall death rate for patients with NSF was 48 per cent, compared with 20 per cent for patients without the illness.
Five different gadolinium contrasting agents are FDA approved for use in MRI scans. Yet there is evidence that the manufacturers knew of the risks that gadolinium could cause serious complication for kidney patients and did nothing about it.
