Gadolinium Deposition Disease after MRI

Gadolinium deposition disease occurs when the heavy metal gadolinium (Gd) is retained in the body following magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Gadolinium deposition disease can affect anyone -- men or women, old or young -- who has been exposed to this element through contact with a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GDCA). This page contains an overview of gadolinium deposition disease including GDD symptoms, causes, and information on gadolinium deposition disease lawsuits.

What is gadolinium?

Gadolinium is the active element in many contrast agents used to enhance the viewing of internal organs and tissues during MRI imaging. Well known for its toxicity to humans, gadolinium was approved for MRI contrast agents because manufacturers assured the FDA the metal would be excreted from the body by the kidneys. To promote rapid expulsion of the dangerous metal, gadolinium is bonded to another substance known as a chelate, which limits the chance it will be retained by the body. Researchers have discovered that even in persons with normal kidney functioning, gadolinium may stay in the body. Gadolinium deposits have been found in the brain and bones, resulting in gadolinium deposition disease.

Gadolinium has been approved for use in MRI contrast dyes since 1988. According to the American Society of Neuro Radiology and the American College of Radiology, more than 30 million patients undergo MRI imaging in the U.S. each year.

Gadolinium Deposition Disease

Where researchers once believed the heavy metal was released by the kidneys, recent evidence has shown it can be retained throughout the body such as in the skin, joints, connective tissues, and brain. Gadolinium Deposition Disorder is the resulting illness, which has only been identified as such since it was first named in published research by Dr. Semelka in 2016. That same year, gadolinium deposits were detected in patients with normal renal function, indicating the substance is not as safe as drug manufacturers promised.

Gadolinium Deposition Disease occurs when deposits of gadolinium build up in brain and bone tissues. Symptoms of gadolinium deposition disease include searing skin and subcutaneous pain, chronic bone pain, and “chemo brain” or cognitive decline. Exposure to gadolinium can also harm the kidneys and impact renal function. In extreme cases, patients exposed to gadolinium may develop nephrogenic system fibrosis (NSF), which is characterized by a life-threatening thickening of the skin and fibrosis of muscle, fascia, lungs and heart. NSF cases have been reported in connection to the top five FDA approved agents: MagneVist, MultiHance, Omniscan, OptiMARK, and ProHance. More research is underway to understand how often NSF results from gadolinium deposition disease.

More than 30 million Americans undergo MRI each year. The active element in MRI contrast dyes, gadolinium is widely known for its toxicity to humans. To limit the degree to which gadolinium is retained in the body, gadolinium is bonded with a chelate, or carrier substance, in various manners. Research has shown that gadolinium-based contrast agents known as linear agents put patients most at risk for gadolinium deposition disease, after as few as four MRI procedures. When gadolinium is retained in the body, patients may suffer chronic and side effects and irreversible damage.

FDA Gadolinium Deposition Disease Warnings & Research

Research on the side effects of gadolinium exposure through MRI has been underway since the mid 1980s, but it was only in 2016 that the term Gadolinium Deposition Disease was first used to refer to side effects of gadolinium retained in the body.

• In 1984, peer-reviewed articles on the side effects of gadolinium on animals with normal kidney function were published.
• In 1989, a study showed gadolinium deposits could be found in the brain eight days after injection of a contrast agent, indicating the kidneys do not always expel the heavy metal as hoped.
• In 1996, a study on rats indicated potential neurotoxic aspects of gadolinium side effects.
• A 2002 study confirmed that gadolinium retention (which cause gadolinium deposition disease) occurs in healthy dogs.
• In 2007, a Bayer executives admitted the company had been aware of the risk of gadolinium retention since 1980. Indications of gadolinium deposition disease in rats had become apparent in a 1980 study which was never published.
• The first reports of retention and gadolinium in 2014; in 2016, gadolinium deposits were found in the bones and brains of patients with normal renal function.

The first FDA gadolinium side effects warning was issued in July of 2015, when regulators announced they were launching an investigation. A May of 2017 FDA gadolinium warning was issued, confirming the risk of gadolinium retention but stating no adverse effects had been connected to gadolinium contrast agent exposure. And in December of 2017, following a panel on gadolinium deposition disease in September and just after Chuck Norris' wife filed gadolinium deposition disease lawsuit, a third FDA gadolinium warning was issued. Linear GBCAs, such as Omniscan, OptiMARK, and Magnevist, were singled out as putting patients at risk for gadolinium deposition, but these products are still in wide use in the U.S.. In comparison, Japan and the European Union have taken steps to protect their citizens by restricting the production of the most dangerous contrast agents.

Chuck Norris' Wife's Gadolinium Deposition Disease Lawsuit

The gadolinium deposition disease lawsuit filed by Chuck Norris' wife Gena served to bring to risks of gadolinium retention into the light. Alleging that she suffers symptoms of gadolinium deposition disorder following several MRIs, Chuck Norris' wife is seeking compensation of more than $10 million from three manufacturers of gadolinium-based contrast agents. Chuck Norris' wife's symptoms include a burning pain throughout the body, violent shaking, numbness, tingling, weakness, cognitive deficits, kidney damage, and difficulty breathing. The gadolinium contrast side effects lawsuit asserts that manufacturers had a responsibility to warn the public long ago.

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Gadolinium Contrast Side Effects Lawsuits

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