The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked manufacturers of certain dyes used to differentiate normal and abnormal tissues in an MRI scan to include a new boxed warning on the product labeling of all gadolinium based contrast agents.The products are:

• Gadobenate Dimeglumine (marketed as MultiHance)
• Gadodiamide (marketed as Omniscan)
• Gadopentetate Dimeglumine (marketed as Magnevist)
• Gadoteridol (marketed as ProHance)
• Gadoversetamide (marketed as OptiMARK)

In certain cases, patients who have had the dye injected into them have shown signs of NSF/NFD (nephrogenic systemic fibrosis/nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy), which include extreme thickening of the skin around the elbows and knees, leg, knee and elbow pain and difficulty walking. In some cases, the thickened skin severely affects a person’s internal organs and may cause organ failure and even death.

The MRI process

When you have an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), doctors inject you with a dye that helps to differentiate between normal and abnormal tissues in the body. With most people, the dye is removed naturally through the body via the kidneys. However, this is not always the case for people with kidney disease and the dye that remains in the body can cause NSF/NFD.

FDA Advises Advanced Screening,

According to the FDA, patients should be screened for kidney problems prior to receiving one of these imaging agents. The recommended dose should not be exceeded and enough time should elapse to ensure that a dose has been eliminated from the body before the agent is used again.

Help us help you

We are attempting to discover additional information on what role this dye may play in people contracting NSF/NFD and just how large this problem may be. Please help us help you. If you have had adverse affects from a dye used during an MRI similar to what has been described above, contact an attorney to discuss your rights.