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Gadolinium based contrast agents are used during MRIs and MRAs to allow doctors to more clearly see defective tissue. The gadolinium is expelled from the body through a patient’s kidneys. In a patient with healthy kidneys, the gadolinium is quickly removed from the body with no harm. If a patient has kidney problems, however, reports indicate the patient is at risk of developing Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF), also known as Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD), which causes fibrosis or scarring of the skin and internal organs.

Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) / Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD)

The first recorded diagnosis of NSF / NFD was in 1997, but NSF / NFD first appeared in the medical literature in 2000. The condition has only been found in people that have kidney problems. Reports state the people who are at risk of developing NSF / NFD include patients with:

• acute or chronic severe renal insufficiency (low kidney filtration rate)
• kidney dysfunction due to hepatorenal syndrome (liver problems)
• recent surgery, especially a liver transplant
• any medical condition that affects the patient’s blood clotting ability.

NSF / NFD has only been found in patients with pre-existing kidney problems or those with mild or moderate kidney function loss. 

NSF / NFD creates an excessive formation of tissue in the skin and internal organs. This leads to a build-up of thick and hard skin that severely restricts movement and bending of joints. A person with NSF / NFD can also experience:

• difficulty breathing
• muscle weakness
• yellow spots in the white of the eye
• deep pain in the bones of the hips and ribs

In severely affected patients, NSF / NFD may cause the inability to walk and restrict the patient to a wheelchair. Although NSF / NFD is not fatal, it can significantly contribute to death by restricting breathing and mobility. Currently there is no known cure for NSF / NFD, although it can be slowed and NSF / NFD may even be reversed by improved kidney functions or kidney transplant.

Cause of NSF / NFD

The direct cause of NSF / NFD is not yet known, however, reports find a casual connection between the use of a gadolinium based contrast agents in patients with renal failure and NFS / NFD. The Danish Medicines Agency first reported the connection between gadolinium and NFS / NFD in May 2006 after they studied twenty-five patients suffering from NFS / NFD in Denmark and Austria. A subsequent report by Yale University found that 95% of patients with NSF / NFD had undergone an MRI with a gadolinium contrast agent. The Massachusetts General Hospital reported that a patient with kidney problems, who had an MRI with gadolinium contrast agent, was ten times more likely to develop NSF / NFD.  

The reports indicate that a patient can develop NSF / NFD after having as little as one MRI using a gadolinium based contrast agent. NSF / NFD can develop a few days after being injected with gadolinium or may develop weeks or moths later because the Gadolinium lingers in the body. The reports do not specify which of the five FDA approved gadolinium based contrast agents cause NFS / NFD; however, when identified, Omniscan was most frequently the contrast agent identified as causing NSF / NFD. It is currently unknown whether the chance of developing NSF / NFD is equal for all five FDA approved gadolinium contrast agents.  

Contact Us

If you or a loved has been suffering from NSF / NFD or any Gadolinium side effect, please contact us today as you may be entitled to compensation.

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