Home » Posts tagged 'FDA'
Tag Archives: FDA
Gadolinium found in gliomas and adjacent normal brain tissue
February 24, 2019 – Researchers from Finland, led by Dr. Aida Kiviniemi, found that gadolinium deposits can be detected in both enhancing and non-enhancing gliomas, adjacent normal brain tissue, and necrosis. The authors said that to their knowledge, “this is the first study to provide quantitative data of gadolinium retention in gliomas and neighboring normal brain with respect to tumor enhancement and type of GBCA used”. “The levels of gadolinium in the tumor and normal brain correlated suggesting a possible transit of gadolinium to the surroundings of the brain lesion. The most powerful predictor of gadolinium retention was the type of GBCA administered with significantly higher gadolinium accumulation detected with linear (gadodiamide and gadopentetate dimeglumine) relative to macrocyclic (gadoterate meglumine and gadobutrol) agents.” The study, Gadolinium retention in gliomas and adjacent normal brain tissue: association with tumor contrast enhancement and linear/macrocyclic agents, was recently published online in Neuroradiology. (more…)
Gadolinium Toxicity – Status and Direction – August 2018
The two of us, Sharon Williams and Hubbs Grimm, have been working together on gadolinium toxicity related issues since 2012 and this website since 2014. Since it affects us and our many new friends personally, coming to agreement on our “message” has not always been easy but we have done it.
Recently, out of frustration with lack of progress on matters related to gadolinium toxicity from MRI contrast agents, we wanted to do a post that was both reflective of where the medical community has been on this issue and where we believe it ought to go. While we had similar ideas, we differed in how we wanted to convey the message. So, we each worked on our own editorial and then we helped each other with the final copy as we have done many times in the past.
Tomorrow we will be posting two editorials about Gadolinium Toxicity. While our approaches are different, this is not a dispute between us or an attempt to decide which is right and which is wrong. Instead, it is two people, working together with great respect for each other, expressing their thoughts in an important discussion about something that affects countless other people. We invite industry representatives to contribute to this discussion.
We hope you will read both editorials and take time to consider the important points we make.
Sharon’s editorial is titled, “Gadolinium Toxicity: If not NSF, then what is it?”
Hubbs’ editorial is titled, “Gadolinium Toxicity – Let’s not make the same mistake again”
Sharon Williams and Hubbs Grimm
Coauthors of The Lighthouse Project
FDA makes change to GBCA Medication Guide requirement
On December 19, 2017, the FDA issued a new Safety Announcement related to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) administered for MRIs. One of the actions described in the announcement was the requirement that every patient be given a Medication Guide to read before receiving a GBCA. The Medication Guides for all GBCAs are now available. However, on May 16, 2018, the FDA issued an Update to the requirement that patients be given the Medication Guides prior to their MRIs.
It appears that the FDA has determined that, “hospital inpatients are not required to receive a Medication Guide unless the patient or caregiver requests it”.
Since most people are not aware that patients are retaining gadolinium from GBCAs administered for MRIs or that gadolinium is a toxic metal, they will not know to ask for a copy of the Medication Guide or that one even exists. That will result in a vulnerable population of patients not being fully-informed about the potential risk of gadolinium deposition in their brain, bones, skin, and other tissues.
As documented in the medical literature, patients in hospitals are at greater risk of having an acute kidney injury or AKI which can impair patients’ kidney function and potentially cause them to retain more gadolinium. I believe that patients in hospitals and/or their families should be informed about that risk and they should be given a Medication Guide for the GBCA that will be administered for any inpatient imaging procedures.
The following is the FDA’s May 16, 2018 Update – (more…)
FDA’s response to GBCA Safety Issues – More warnings and a Medication Guide
On December 19, 2017, the FDA issued an update to its Drug Safety Communication regarding brain retention of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) used for MRIs. Despite mounting evidence that GBCAs leave gadolinium in the brain, bones, and other tissues of all patients who undergo MRIs with contrast, the FDA has decided not to suspend the use of any GBCAs. This is in stark contrast to the actions taken by the European Medicine’s Agency and the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Those agencies suspended the use of the linear agents Magnevist, Omniscan, and OptiMark, while requiring changes to all GBCA product labeling. The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare restricted the use of non-specific linear GBCAs only to cases where there is no alternative and it also required changes to product labeling.
In its Safety Alert, the FDA acknowledged that “linear GBCAs result in more retention and retention for a longer time than macrocyclic GBCAs”. However, the FDA concluded that “the benefit of all approved GBCAs continues to outweigh any potential risks”. This action was taken despite “reports of adverse events involving multiple organ systems in patients with normal kidney function”.
In response to the issue of gadolinium retention, the FDA is requiring several actions to alert health care professionals and patients about gadolinium retention after an MRI using a GBCA. These include requiring a new patient Medication Guide for each agent, providing educational information that every patient will be asked to read before receiving a GBCA, and taking actions that can help minimize problems. The FDA is also requiring manufacturers of GBCAs to conduct human and animal studies to further assess the safety of gadolinium-based contrast agents. Product labeling for all GBCAs must be changed to include new warnings and precautions.
Each GBCA will have a patient Medication Guide with agent specific information, and content that is required for all gadolinium-based contrast agents; the Medication Guide for MultiHance and ProHance have recently been released. The Radiology Department of each institution will create educational handouts that every patient will be asked to read before signing the consent form for his or her MRI or MRA with a GBCA.
Patients must be fully-informed about potential risks. (more…)
Gadolinium Toxicity 