Contrast agents containing Gadolinium were once considered to be one of the safest medical products in the world because there were minimal side effects associated with the solutions and the side effects that did commonly appear were generally very mild. Originally approved for use in 1988, contrast agents containing Gadolinium have been given to many thousands of patients over the years prior to an MRI imaging procedure in order to enhance the images obtained by the scan. Using a contrast agent containing Gadolinium with an MRI scan became a standard operating procedure for MRI imaging and nearly every person that received an MRI scan performed in the United States was given an injection of a Gadolinium based solution prior to the imaging procedure.
In 2006, an association between receiving an injection of a Gadolinium based solution and the development of a life threatening condition called Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis was discovered by researchers reviewing the appearance of the new condition. The condition tended to appear in patients that were suffering from impaired kidney function after they had received an injection of a solution containing Gadolinium to improve the images obtained from an MRI procedure. As the researchers dug deeper into the information about the condition, they found that all of the patients that had been positively diagnosed with Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis were experiencing advanced kidney disease or kidney failure and all of them had been injected with a solution that contained Gadolinium in the weeks and months prior to the appearance of the condition.
First discovered in 1997, Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis is a relatively new condition of which little is known about. The first references to Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis were not written into medical journals until 2000 and research continues so that we are able to learn all that we can about the condition. There is no cure available for Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis and no treatment method has been found that can reverse or halt the progression of the condition. All of the treatment methods that are used for treating the symptoms of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis only slow the progression of the condition and relieve some of the worse symptoms, such as the burning of the skin and the discomfort of the muscles that are calcifying beneath the affected skin areas.
Most of the patients that have undergone an MRI procedure are at no risk of developing Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis in their lifetime as only patients with severely impaired renal function have found to develop the condition. Even in patients that have severe kidney disease, only 3% of the people that could potentially develop the condition actually end up developing the condition in the months after their exposure to Gadolinium. As MRI images can be obtained without the use of a contrast agent, it has been recommended that any contrast agent containing Gadolinium should be avoided in patients that are known to have or are suspected of having impaired kidney function.
DO I HAVE A LAWSUIT?
If you or somebody you know has recently undergone an MRI or MRA procedure that used a Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agent, you should contact us immediately. You have rights and may be entitled to compensation for your Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis injuries.
Please use the form below to contact an Injury Help Network attorney / lawyer directly for a free confidential case review. You may also call toll free 24 hrs/day by dialing (866) 879-3040.
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