Gadolinium Lawyers

Gadolinium - Chemistry Gone Bad?

Gadolinium, for much of its history after being discovered, was nothing more than a member of the traditional periodic table. However, gadolinium soon gained a place of prominence within the medical community after its benefits began to be discovered as doctors looked for new ways to treat patients in a safe and accurate manner.

Specifically, gadolinium was found to be an excellent contrasting agent because of its base properties. Doctors found that this ability to serve as a visual contrast could and would be quite useful when administering MRI's and/or MRA's on patients. MRI's are very specific and sensitive scans that give doctors an up-close look at the internal organs, muscles, bones and ligaments in a patient, but these scans can sometimes be difficult to see and to form a diagnosis and prognosis.

Gadolinium changed all of that almost instantly. Doctors learned that injecting a patient with gadolinium allowed them to view MRI's and MRA's much more easily, as the substance formed a visual contrast between the area doctors wanted to see and the surrounding organs and tissues. As a result, diagnoses became much easier to complete and even a bit more accurate in their analytical results.

Problems Arise

Over time, however, gadolinium began to show problems to go along with its promise and benefits. Specifically, these problems were associated with those patients who suffered from kidney problems in general or from renal disease. These problems have been shown to lead to serious medical problems and even a risk of death.

In patients without kidney problems, gadolinium is not an issue. That's because after gadolinium is injected into the body, it's easily expelled from the system safely by properly-working kidneys. Therefore, it doesn't present a risk of harm in those people.

Those with kidney problems, however, are generally unable to expel the injected gadolinium, and prolonged exposure to this substance has been linked to the development of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF), which is also known as Nephrogrenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD).

This condition leads to scarring, also known as fibrosis, of the skin and internal organs. When NSF/NSD progresses through its normal stages, it leads to the breakdown of the joints in these patients, and often confines them to a wheelchair, as they are simply unable to move. The scarring of internal organs creates even more serious problems and can lead to death.

If you have been injured as a result of having gadolinium injected into your system, you need to contact the gadolinium lawyers at Williams Kherkher today for a free initial consultation.