A person who goes through an MRI scan might not realize that even though these tests are used to identify more serious medical conditions, they could leave the hospital with problems related to their exposure to gadolinium based contrast agents.

Patients may wonder how long it takes for gadolinium to leave their system. Some hospitals claim that the gadolinium contrast agent leaves the body in as little as 24 hours. However, research shared by the Radiological Society of North America says that patients who have had multiple MRIs might keep the substance in their system longer.

Exposure to gadolinium during an MRI could lead to the development of gadolinium deposition disease. If the contrast stays inside someone’s body for longer than expected, the health impacts might not even be noticed since many people are not familiar with gadolinium-related problems.

What Is Gadolinium Contrast?

Gadolinium contrast media is a chemical substance used in MRI scans. When this has been injected into the body of a patient who is going to receive an MRI, it improves the quality of the images or pictures. This allows the radiologist to more accurately evaluate and report on the patient’s possible abnormalities or diseases.

How Many People Receive Gadolinium Contrast Medium?

Approximately one out of every three MRI scans uses gadolinium contrast medium to improve image clarity. A physician who is attempting to determine whether or not to use gadolinium contrast will likely evaluate the patient’s past medical history to ensure that the person might not be at risk for problems from the strong magnetic fields of the scanner.

Concerns such as previous allergic reactions or kidney disease or pregnancy are reasons not to use gadolinium.

Is the Medical Community Getting Away from Gadolinium?

The March 2019 issue of the journal Radiology suggests that MRIs performed without gadolinium are just as effective at monitoring certain conditions such as progression of multiple sclerosis.

According to other research published in 2017 in the Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease Journal, gadolinium remains in the body for some time following administration for an MRI and can lead to health complications.

Physicians might now steer clear of using gadolinium contrast for those patients with multiple sclerosis because non-contrast scans cost less, take less time to reform and reduce the possible effects of long term exposure.

What Is Gadolinium Retention?

It has been recognized in the medical community in recent years that small amounts of some part of a gadolinium contrast remain in the bones and tissues or even in the brain of a patient.

Some patients who have received MRIs with contrast argue that they were not told about these dangers and argue that more could have been done prior to the Food and Drug Administration’s updated safety bulletin about gadolinium based contrast agents that was released in 2018. The possible deposit of gadolinium is especially problematic for a patient who receives multiple MRIs as this can build up over time and cause significant side effects.

What Are New Alternatives to Gadolinium as a Contrast Dye?

In August, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) announced they may have found a safer contrast agent made of manganese.

Led by senior author Eric M Gale, PhD, assistant in Biomedical Engineering at the hospital and assistant professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School, researchers published their results online at Investigative Radiology, according to ScienceDaily.

The study described how a manganese-based contrast agent more thoroughly eliminated from the body when compared to the body’s elimination of gadolinium. Manganese is one of the body’s essential elements found naturally within the human body; Gadolinium is a completely foreign substance.

MGH researchers explained that the manganese contrast dye uses a chelator, which is a molecule that binds tightly to metal ions of the manganese. This chelating agent helps the body eliminate the manganese fully from the body because the chelator wraps around the manganese so that it cannot interact with other cells.

Peter Caravan, PhD is one of the authors of the study and is co-director of the Institute for Innovation in Imaging at MGH and an associate professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. He said that by using a strong chelator, the manganese is properly circulated through the body and can illuminate irregularities.

“Without a chelator of sufficient strength, the manganese will be taken up by the liver and remain in the body,” Caravan told ScienceDaily in August.

Gale and Caravan invented the manganese-based contrast agent, known as Mn-PyC3A.