A recently published paper by Jackson et al., Gadolinium Deposition Disease: A Case Report and the Prevalence of Enhanced MRI Procedures Within the Veterans Health Administration, reports that the rate of gadolinium-enhanced procedures has increased immensely within the Veterans Health Administration system and patients with renal disease are frequently exposed to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). Gadolinium (Gd) is a toxic metal and there is mounting evidence for Gd deposition in various organs and their intracellular compartments, even in those with normal renal function. The authors note that a large knowledge gap remains concerning the potential harm of Gd deposition and the factors determining its elimination from the body. Included in the paper is a Case Report of a Vietnam-era veteran “whose presentation, clinical, and laboratory findings were consistent within the spectrum of Gd deposition disease.” Gadolinium deposition disease (GDD), as described by Semelka et al., includes chronic symptoms such as chronic pain, headache, bone pain, skin thickening, and clouded mentation or brain fog, which are attributed to Gd retained from GBCAs.

The paper notes that “far from being inert, Gd-based contrast agents induced systemic metabolic changes such as hypertriglyceridemia, elevations in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin resistance, and the Warburg effect (glycolytic/energy switching) in the renal cortex concomitant with profound mitochondrial abnormalities.”

The authors suggest that Gd retention, Gd-induced multisymptomatic illnesses, Gd-associated plaques, Gd-induced neurotoxicity, and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis are part of a continuum with Gd as the common thread. “Conceptually, Gd-induced diseases may represent a continuum that results from the retention of a nonphysiologic, toxic heavy rare earth metal.” (more…)