Gadolinium injection used to get a better MRI image can cause NSF or NFD in people with kidney problems.
NSF*, also called NFD** is disease that did not exist until 1997, when gadolinium compounds came into use as an injection given to get a brighter and better image on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and MRA (magnetic imaging angiography) scans. Only people with kidney problems at the time the gadolinium injection is given get the disease.
NSF/NFD is a signature disease, meaning that there is no way to get it except from a gadolinium injection, and gadolinium injections are ordinary only given in connection with MRI and MRA scans.
NSF/NFD typically starts with swelling and tightening of the skin, frequently with red or dark patches. Usually only arms and/or legs are involved. It can progress rapidly to woody, thickened, distorted skin that can become so severe that the person cannot walk. There is no consistently effective treatment.
The companies that make gadolinium injections have known for years that it is toxic and poses severe risks it loses the chemical coating used to keep it from contacting human tissue. This coating can be lost when gadolinium stays in the body too long, and this is what happens to people whose kidneys are not working properly.
Contact us if you have NSF/NFD or think you might have it, and you are interested in making a claim against the company that made the gadolinium compound.
*nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF)
**nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD)
Learn More About NSF and NFD
- FDA Requests Boxed Warning for Contrast Agents Used to Improve MRI Images – May 23, 2007, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked manufacturers to include a new boxed warning on the product labeling of all gadolinium-based contrast agents which are used to enhance the quality of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).