Additional Information
or had an MRI with a gadolinium injection? Contact us immediately for a free evaluation.
NSF & Gadolinium Injections
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD), please contact us right away to speak with one of our gadolinium lawyers.
SimmonsCooper is currently pursuing cases involving patients who have undergone an MRI or MRA with gadolinium contrast and later developed NSF or NFD.
The gadolinium lawyers at SimmonsCooper have experience dealing with serious, complex medical and product liability cases, and may be able to help.
NSF and NFD are very rare conditions that are almost exclusively linked to patients with kidney conditions having gadolinium injections during an MRI or MRA procedure.
About Gadolinium and NSF/NFD
Gadolinium injections are a routine part of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) scans. The gadolinium increases the contrast in the scans and helps doctors spot potential problems more accurately than with the scans by themselves. Unfortunately, some patients with chronic kidney problems have had serious, even lethal, problems following the contrast injections.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Public Health Advisory in December, 2006 about the potential link between Gadolinium and NSF/NFD.
At this time, the FDA had reports of 90 patients with moderate to end-stage kidney disease who developed NSF/NFD after an MRI with gadolinium-based contrast.
Symptoms of NSF/NFD
Patients with NSF/NFD develop thickening of the skin and connective tissues throughout their bodies. This is known as fibrosis. The skin becomes so hard and thick that it restricts movement. It puts tremendous pressure on bones and joints and can even cause fractures.
Signs of fibrosis can also show up in other parts of the body, affecting the heart, diaphragm, lungs and other areas.
Signs of NSF include:
- Burning
- Itching
- Swelling
- Hardening and tightening of the skin
- Yellow spots on the whites of the eyes
- Stiffness in joints and trouble moving or straightening the arms, hands, legs or feet
- Pain deep in the hip bones or ribs
- Muscle weakness
In some cases, it can take up to 18 months for symptoms to appear after an injection, but they usually appear much sooner, even as soon as two days after the procedure. NSF is a progressive disease and does appear to move quite quickly. Within a few weeks of the start of symptoms, many patients are confined to a wheelchair.
There is no known cure for NSF. It can cause death.
Who is at Risk?
Nearly all of the cases of NSF/NFD can be directly attributed to gadolinium injections in patients with advanced or end-stage kidney disease. This link was first announced by the FDA in 2006, at which time they suggested additional warnings be included in with gadolinium distribution.
Contact us to speak with our gadolinium lawyers.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with NSF/NFD, please contact us right away for a free consultation. There is no cost or obligation to sign with us if you call and the gadolinium lawyers at SimmonsCooper will provide you with information and counsel that may prove highly valuable.
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