Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis is a disease that was only first spoken about in the year 2000. Since then, a strong link has been found between NSF and gadolinium-based contrast dyes used in MRI scans. Although a cause and effect relationship has not yet been established, much has happened with regards to NSF and gadolinium within the last few years. In this article, we consider the timeline with regards to gadolinium and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.

2000 – Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis First Described

Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis was first described as a separate disease in 2000, after a case study involving 15 patients with skin hyper-pigmentation, skin hardening, and thickening. All of these patients had undergone renal replacement therapy before their diagnosis.

June 2006 – Link between Gadolinium-Based Contrast Dyes and Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis

In 2006, a link between gadolinium-based contrast dyes and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis was made. This was first started by GE Healthcare commenting on their gadolinium-based contrast dye Omniscan on 6th June 2006, and then the FDA reported on the link between nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and gadolinium-based contrast dyes on 8th June 2006.

December 2006 – FDA Updates Information on Gadolinium-Based Contrast Dyes and NFS

In December 2006, the FDA updated its health advisory on gadolinium-based contrast dyes and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. This update mentioned that, “As of December 21, 2006, FDA has received reports of 90 patients with moderate to end-stage kidney disease who developed NSF/NFD after they had an MRI or MRA with a gadolinium-based contrast agent.” They also issued a number of warnings with regards to the use of gadolinium-based contrast dyes and Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis.

May 2007 – FDA Requests All Gadolinium-Based Contrast Dye Manufacturers to Include a Boxed Warning

In May 2007 the FDA requested that all manufacturers of gadolinium-based contrast dyes include a boxed warning on their products. This warning was to state that if kidney patients received gadolinium-based contrast dyes, they were at risk of contracting Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis.

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is a very new disease that was only first described in 2000. In 2006, a link was found between gadolinium-based contrast dyes. Since then, the FDA has issued a number of warnings regarding the use of these products and their risk for kidney patients, as well as requesting that all manufacturers of gadolinium-based products include a boxed warning in May 2007.