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Gadolinium Toxicity – A Disease of Degrees
Why does a Gadolinium Toxicity diagnosis have to be full-blown NSF (Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis) or nothing at all? Patients with normal kidney function have been trying to get an answer to that question for years now, but for some reason no one is listening.
NSF, which can occur when someone with severe kidney disease retains large amounts of Gadolinium, is probably the worst manifestation of Gadolinium Toxicity. But what happens to people who retain less Gadolinium? Couldn’t those people also be adversely affected, but perhaps to a lesser degree than full-blown NSF?
We believe Gadolinium Toxicity is a “disease of degrees” which can manifest itself in many ways depending on how much Gadolinium someone retains. Since free Gadolinium is toxic, it would seem that the severity of each person’s symptoms will likely depend on the total amount of Gadolinium retained from the administered Gadolinium-based Contrast Agent. (more…)
Gadolinium Toxicity – Is it a real thing?
If you have developed unexplained and troubling symptoms since your MRI or MRA with a Gadolinium-based Contrast Agent, then you will understand why we think that Gadolinium Toxicity is a medical condition that needs to be recognized. It is a problem that is long overdue for recognition by the FDA and the medical community. There is mounting evidence in the published literature that indicates that patients with normal kidney function retain Gadolinium which is known to be toxic to the human body.
Some people develop symptoms after just one dose of contrast, while others will have several MRIs with contrast before they realize their unexplained symptoms began soon after their exposure to a Gadolinium-based Contrast Agent or GBCA. (more…)
Confirmation of Gadolinium Retention from as far back as 1989
While most of the published research on Gadolinium has been related to NSF (Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis) and patients with severe renal disease, more recent studies by Errante (2014), Kanda (2013) and Xia (2010) have presented evidence of Gadolinium retention in patients without severe kidney problems.
Some authors and members of the radiology community seem to be surprised by finding evidence of Gadolinium in abnormal brain tissue in patients with normal renal function, but based on what has been published about Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents, it seems that this might be expected to occur. Each of the manufacturers’ package inserts notes that GBCAs deposit in abnormal tissue, and none of the literature that I have read indicates that renal function plays any part in Gadolinium enhancement of abnormal tissue. (more…)
Gadolinium Retention – Is it all in my head?
My first exposure to a Gadolinium-based Contrast Agent or GBCA took place in mid-2000. Of course, at that time I had no idea what they were injecting into me. All I knew was my doctor wanted me to have a brain MRI with contrast. Thankfully nothing abnormal was found, but in retrospect, I believe some of my symptoms that I thought were related to spine problems may have been caused by retained Gadolinium. From 2000 on, I began to experience periodic intense pain on the left-side of my head. In 2001, I developed a small section of hyperpigmented skin on the front of my neck that ran from just below the incision line for my first two anterior cervical fusions down to the base of my neck – it was centered directly over my thyroid gland.
It would be 8 more years before I had another MRI with contrast. In 2008, I had my 2nd and 3rd dose of a GBCA. My head pain intensified and started to happen more frequently after my second brain MRI with contrast.
By October of 2009, the pain on the left-side of my head, especially toward the top, became extremely intense and it lasted longer. My doctor ordered a brain MRA without contrast. Soon after the MRA unexplained things began to happen. (more…)
Gadolinium Toxicity 