For years, the medical community has been ordering MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans to evaluate everything from strokes, tumors and venous or arterial blockages to ligament tears, broken bones and herniated discs.  Before the first reports came out, I thought nothing of ordering an MRI with contrast (a medication called gadolinium is injected into your vein during the MRI to take a better look at certain structures) not realizing that slowly but surely a new disease called “nephrogenic systemic fibrosis” would be on the horizon. 

I had always considered gadolinium to be a “safe” medication to give if someone has poorly functioning kidneys…..but this is definitely not the case. 

Now I know you’re saying to yourself, Dr. Ferguson, you have to speak in laymen’s terms…so here it is. 

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis refers to the thickening and hardening of your skin, your muscle tissues and other organs in your body after being exposed to gadolinium contrast used to perform some MRI scans….if you have poorly functioning kidneys.  When your kidneys aren’t functioning normally, the gadolinium remains in your system and can cause this total body “stiffening.”  People who are on dialysis or have failing kidneys need to be extremely careful about getting a MRI with gadolinium.

Now you may be asking yourself, “What should I do if I need to have a MRI scan?” or “What if I have poorly functioning kidneys or I’m on dialysis, can I still have an MRI?”

In both cases, the most important first step to take is to….talk with your doctor. Your doctor will explain to you the reason or indication for the MRI scan and determine if you’ll need to have the test with or without gadolinium.  If you have problems with your kidneys and need to have a MRI with gadolinium your doctor will discuss with you the risks or potential side effects of the test and you’ll both have to weigh the benefit of having the test with the potential consequence of developing nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.  Studies have shown that the risk of developing this disease is between 2.5 to 5 percent if you have advanced kidney disease. 

If you receive routine dialysis, your doctor will likely recommend that you have a session of dialysis immediately after the MRI with gadolinium to remove the excess contrast from your body and lower your risk for developing this debilitating disease. 

If you have very poorly functioning kidneys but aren’t on dialysis, you and your doctor will need to weigh the risks of developing this disease versus the risks of starting you on dialysis. 

The development of this new disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis has been a wake-up call for the medical community….because all tests and all medications have some risk associated with them—and sometimes it takes years to even discover them.  

The Health and Wellness Queen wants you to be an informed consumer when it comes to your healthcare…so I’ll continue to bring you up to date information that affects you and your family.

To your wellness,

Dr. Traci Ferguson,  The Health and Wellness Queen 

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 14th, 2007 at 6:54 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.