Posts Tagged ‘ Gadolinium ’

Criminal Medicine: Best Defense, Sadly, is a Good Offense

October 6th, 2010. By LucyC

If finding the right medication feels a bit like a minefield lately, it’s no wonder.

It’s not been a banner time for Pharma—these past few years. So many drugs and medical products in general seem to be linked with serious, if not life-threatening adverse events. You may recognize some of the names on the hit parade: drugs such as Accutane and a possible link with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); proton pump inhibitors (antacid drugs) and increased risk for hip fractures; Reglan and its link with Tardive Dyskinesia; Byetta—a diabetes medication linked with kidney failure… 

And of course no list would be complete without Avandia—another diabetes medication—and its infamous association with serious, sometimes fatal cardiovascular events. 

Oh—there’s also allegations surrounding the class of antidepressants known as SSRIs and links with newborn heart defects. In fact the list is exhaustive.  

And to be clear, it’s not just drugs. Products such as the DePuy metal hip replacement are also in trouble. DePuy is currently facing a class action lawsuit over failure rates seen with its ASR acetabular cup. DePuy, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, has also had global product recalls.

Gadolinium is another one. It’s a clear, non-radioactive chemical compound used with patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). In 1988 the FDA approved gadolinium as a contrast agent to provide a clearer picture of organs and tissues. Since that time, more than 200 cases of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD) have been linked to the product. 

This week, news out on Bloomberg indicates that the powers that be at Pfizer Inc, ‘failed to properly warn doctors and consumers that its Prempro menopause drug could cause Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Accutane, Avandia, Byetta, DePuy, DePuy Orthopaedics Metal Hip Replacement, Drugs, Gadolinium, Medical, Norian SRS, Prempro, Proton Pump Inhibitors, Reglan, SSRI
Posted in DePuy ASR Hip Recall, Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

NSF Registry Aims to Understand Disease

January 19th, 2010. By AbiK

When news first broke about the possible link between Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) and gadolinium-based contrast agents used in MRIs, it was certainly alarming. But not much was known about it aside from the alleged correlation.

So after the first cases of NSF were identified, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worked with doctors from the University of California in San Francisco to investigate the disorder. The work has since moved to Yale University where Dr. Shawn Cowper is in charge of confirming and investigating new cases of NSF.

The NSF Registry—the official project name for the work Dr. Cowper is heading up—aims to collect and organize information about NSF patients globally. The information is collected in order to help identify factors that may be related to or causative of NSF. Additionally, the NSF Registry will collect information on NSF treatments—successes and failures—in order to determine effective therapies and to help design future medication/therapy trials.

Anyone who has been afflicted with NSF or NFD should have their doctor contact Dr. Cowper at . For more information, visit the NSF Registry website: icnfdr.org.

Tags: Gadolinium, MRI Health Risks, NSF Registry
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

In Canada, MRI scans cut…maybe there’s a bright side?

September 17th, 2009. By AbiK

The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) has confirmed via Canwest News Service that it will cut MRI scans by 20%. That’s a staggering figure-think of it, one in five individuals who previously would have been sent for an MRI, won’t be. To anyone south of the Canadian border, it seems unconscionable. Of course, to anyone south of the border who has an HMO, well, they’re used to being told “no can do” or you need to pay through the roof-so not sure which scenario’s better. 

But, regardless of any healthcare debates, you have to wonder whether the reduction in MRI scans will have any measurable impact on the amount of patients who innocently go for their MRI, only to be injected with a gadolinium contrast agent, only to learn later that they’ve got some serious kidney problems. 

Gadolinium contrast has been linked to Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD)-MRI health risks that are real and very serious.  Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Gadolinium, MRI Health Risks
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 3 Comments »

Gadolinium—What is it Good For?

July 14th, 2009. By janem

Absolutely nothing, according to many people with some degree of renal failure who were injected with a contrast agent containing gadolinium during an MRI or MRA. These people got an MRI exam thinking that the results would help their condition. Instead, MRI health risks potentially outweigh the benefits if they were exposed to a gadolinium-based contrast dye.

Gadolinium is highly toxic. It is found in microwave ovens, color television tubes, computer memory and compact discs. Gadolinium is also used in nuclear marine propulsion as a burnable poison. Imagine putting that into your body: I thought Botox was bad enough!

And MRI health risks associated with gadolinium aren’t that rare. So far, more than 350 Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy lawsuits have been filed in the US, alleging that the manufacturers of the contrast agents (five of them) knew how potentially harmful the substances were long before letting the public know. Meanwhile, patients are still being exposed to the risk of NSF/NFD (Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, also known as Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy).

Tags: Gadolinium, MRI Health Risks
Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »

New study on MRI & Gadolinium…but does it matter?

July 1st, 2009. By admin

The June issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (as reported by docguide.com) has the results of a new study on MRI health risks–particularly those associated with gadolinium contrast. According to the docguide.com article,

“Even at very high doses, gadolinium-based contrast agents alone are not sufficient to cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with kidney problems,…”

That’s a statement that caught my eye given all the prior studies on the risks of gadolinium as an MRI contrast agent and its connection to Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF).

In the study, led by Dr. Mellena D. Bridges, of the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, records of 61 patients who received high-dose IV gadodiamide for catheter angiography or computed tomography (CT) between January 2002 and December 2005 were examined. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Gadolinium, MRI Health Risks
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »