The National Center for Health Research (NCHR) recently published a new white paper on its website about gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs).   The title of the paper is “The Health Risks of Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents used in MRIs” and the authors are Stephanie Fox-Rawlings, PhD, and Diana Zuckerman, PhD.  The paper provides a detailed history of GBCAs from regulation, to gadolinium toxicity and its clinical effects, possible treatments, and environmental exposure.

While there is much that we know about gadolinium and GBCAs, the authors acknowledge that there are still uncertainties, but that “the research thus far suggests that some people with healthy kidney function have been harmed by gadolinium.  This conclusion is based on the clear evidence of its accumulation and studies correlating its presence with symptoms”.

The authors pose several major questions concerning GBCAs and potential long-term harm.  They also describe the difficulties involved with designing studies to answer those questions.  However, they make it clear that new studies with carefully selected populations and study designs are needed.

Hopefully NCHR’s white paper about GBCAs will generate more research and interest in the potentially serious health risks associated with gadolinium retention and its long-term toxic effects.

About NCHR –
NCHR is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that is focused on research that can improve the health of adults and children.  They do not accept funding from companies that make medical treatments.

According to its website, NCHR focuses on the programs and policies that they believe can most benefit from the research-based information that they can provide and the attention that they can generate.

You can read the article and learn more about NCHR here –
http://www.center4research.org/health-risks-of-gbcas/

Sharon Williams