› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
Gadolinium based contrast agents used during MRIs, are known to be associated with the onset of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis/ Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NSF/NSD) in patients with pre-existing kidney disease.
An elderly man has sued several major health companies, claiming the dyes used to scan his failing kidneys caused a rare, painful and incurable disease. Peter Gerber, 72, of San Rafael, contends that injections of dyes containing the heavy metal gadolinium caused him to develop nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, or NSF. Also known as nephrogenic fibrosing demopathy, the disease can thicken the skin, stiffen joints, restrict movement and potentially lead to death if it affects internal organs.
Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a new fibrotic skin disease entity that was first recognized in 1997 in 15 patients receiving hemodialysis.
Gadolinium based MRI contrast agents and Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis/ Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NSF/NFD) have been linked in yet another study. This time, researchers in Scotland have confirmed that gadolinium based contrast agents used in MRI’s are strongly associated with the onset of this often fatal disorder in people suffering from pre-existing kidney disease. Their findings only add to the growing body of evidence that shows a strong connection between NSF/NFD and gadolinium based contrast agents that are often used in MRIs.
Certain contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging — gadolinium-based products made by Bayer AG, GE and others — will now carry the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s strongest, “black box” warning.
The U.S. FDA indicated that it would start adding its strongest ‘black box’ warnings to gadolinium based contrast agents used in MRIs by May of next year.
New findings from researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues suggest why some people with kidney failure can develop a rare tightening and swelling of the skin and other organs, including the lungs and heart.
Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis/ Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NSF/NFD), a painful conditions that has been linked to the use of gadolinium based contrast agents used in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), could be more prevalent than once thought.
Kidney disease patients with a newly identified disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) are at increased risk of death, U.S. researchers report. The researchers also concluded that exposure to gadolinium, a contrast agent used in MRI scans, is a significant risk factor for developing NSF, a painful and debilitating condition characterized by a thickening and hardening of the skin. It usually affects the arms and legs but can also affect internal organs. The disease can progress so rapidly that some patients are immobilized and confined to a wheelchair within weeks.
