Gadolinium-based contrast agents can accumulate in the kidneys and cause side effects. to such results to come Researchers at the University of New Mexico.
Various compounds are given to the body to increase the contrast of MR images. One of these contrast agents is gadolinium preparations, a rare earth metal. It was believed that this element is completely inert for the body, does not harm it and does not affect biological functions.
Now American scientists have discovered that this metal accumulates in kidney cells. “We examined tissue samples from five patients who had repeatedly undergone contrast-enhanced MRI and five volunteers who did not undergo this procedure. I was very surprised to find gadolinium nanoparticles in the kidney cells of all five volunteers. It is not yet clear how their atoms are released from the drugs, how they penetrate the cells and form these particles there. ”explained Brent Wagner, one of the study’s authors.
However, most people do not experience any adverse symptoms. The chances of developing them are likely to increase with each new dose, and some people who have had five scans using this metal also have gadolinium in the brain.
The scientists confirmed this during experiments on mice, in which they added several gadolinium-based contrast agents to their bodies. Even a single application of these drugs led to the formation of gadolinium-like nanoparticles in the cells of blood vessels and epithelium of the kidneys of rodents. At the same time, the function of the kidneys of the mice was partially impaired.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop new truly harmless substances for MR.
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