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| Courtesy of Mayo Clinic |
The Mayo Clinic has found that gadolinium-based contrast agents used in MRI exams leave deposits in the brain. The researchers said that there is no evidence that the gadolinium deposits are harmful to patients and continues to recommend the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents as appropriate.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) view of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) has changed over the years: most recently it required that the label be updated to minimize the risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, a rare and serious disorder associated with the use of GBCAs in patients with kidney dysfunction.
The Mayo Clinic study, published in the journal Radiology, examined bodies that had been donated for medical research and that had undergone at least four gadolinium contrast-enhanced MRI exams during their lifetime. It compared these 13 cadavers to another 10 that had never undergone the procedure.
These patients had "measurable quantities of gadolinium deposited in their brain tissue, whereas those never exposed to gadolinium had none," noted a statement describing the research. The researchers went on to measure those gadolinium concentrations and visualize the patterns of those deposits.
"Given that these agents are administered millions of times every year, this is an important discovery," study author and Mayo Clinic radiologist Dr. Laurence Eckel said in a statement.
"Despite evidence that trace amounts of gadolinium are depositing in neural tissues, there is currently no data to suggest that it's harmful to patients," he added. "These FDA-approved, gadolinium-based contrast agents provide critical information to radiologists and other physicians, enabling more accurate and timely diagnosis of disease."
The Mayo Clinic Department of Radiology continues to recommend the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents as appropriate. In fact, it warned that if a patient declines gadolinium administration, the quality and usefulness of the exam could be reduced.
"The findings challenge our understanding of how these agents distribute in the body following intravenous gadolinium contrast administration. These agents have been safely used for years, benefiting patients around the world," concluded Eckel. "We now simply have a few more questions that the medical and scientific communities will seek to answer. Efforts are underway to do just that."
- here are the release and the study
- here are the FDA docs on GBCAs