Carlo Augusto Mallio

Investigating the safety of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) is a fascinating task. Knowledge from physics, chemistry, and clinical imaging must be integrated in order to provide answers to research questions as well as clinical needs.

Following the evidence of intracranial gadolinium deposition after serial injections of GBCAs, several papers showed that, as far as we know, there is no proven causality between tissue damage and gadolinium deposition in the central nervous system.

Currently, the topic is still under investigation in order to understand whether subtle effects on tissues might potentially be revealed on anatomic structures of the human body by means of different techniques. Thus, it is a good practice to provide patients with updated information on GBCA safety prior to administration.

In the meantime, contrast molecules containing elements other than gadolinium are being tested, MRI techniques aimed to obtain information similar to GBCA-enhanced MRI from unenhanced images or using very low GBCA doses are being developed, and studies focused on the GBCA clinical needs assessment are being conducted.

In summary, bearing in mind the patient’s perspective, we should keep investigating the topic to challenge and improve the current standard care.

Read this article at AJNR.org …