Gadolinium is a clear, non-radioactive liquid approved by the FDA as an injectible contrast agent used during magnetic resonance imaging tests (MRI). These advanced tests use high-powered radio waves to look inside the body, and doctors use Gadolinium to provide better contrast between healthy and unhealthy tissues.

When Gadolinium fluid is injected into the veins it is absorbed by the unhealthy tissue, and these areas appear as very bright compared with the other areas of the body, giving doctors a clear picture of which organs or areas of the body are abnormal.

The Food and Drug Administration is currently investigating a connection between gadolinium-based chemical agents and the disease called Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, sometimes called Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD), which affects patients suffering from kidney failure. The FDA believes that a link could exist between NSF and gadolinium after the Danish Medicines Agency reported 25 cases on May 29, 2006. Of these cases, 20 were reported in Denmark and five in Austria. All of these patients developed NSF within at least three months after contact with gadolinium.

On May 23, 2007, FDA notified healthcare professionals of the Agency's request for the addition of a boxed warning and new warnings about the risk of NSF to the full prescribing information for all gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). The symptoms of NFS generally include:

• Tightening and swelling of the skin, usually in the extremities
• Thickening of the skin around the joints, which restricts movement
• Muscle weakness
• Reddened patches on the skin
• Skin texture changes one not dissimilar to an orange peel
• Burning, itching, sharp pains in affected areas
• Calcification of muscle, skin, tendons
• Bone pain in the hips and ribs
• Symmetrical skin lesions, commonly on the ankles and thighs
• Yellow plaques near the eyes
• Hypertension usually precedes skin lesions

If you or someone you know is suffering from gadolinium poisoning please contact Khorrami Pollard & Abir, LLP.