Every time I've gotten an MRI the doctors and techs have sworn up and down it's impossible for this stuff to stick around. Getting tired of not being able to believe what doctors say...
That's surprising, it's at least casually known that they're bio accumulative to some extent. I've joked to the techs before about gadolinium eventually accumulating enough to not be necessary if you do it with enough frequency. Realistically though any situation that you're doing the contrast you're probably at a lot more risk of whatever they've found than from the contrast agent.
I had to have contrast to diagnose a simple cyst, which is entirely asymptomatic and was discovered by accident in the background of a cardiac MRI (family history of SCD, but my own heart is fine).
You're making me feel lucky about what was otherwise a very unpleasant experience!
A chemist gave a great talk about this at a big MRI conference (ISMRM) in Paris 10ish years ago. His explanation was that gad behaves a lot like iron does in the body. It deposits where iron does and like iron it lacks a metabolic route for removal (though menstruating females lose iron).
He stated that deposition was entirely predictable. However the harm caused is still debated.
The article here says ‘ Dr Wagner theorized that nanoparticle formation could trigger a disproportionate immune response, with affected cells sending distress signals that intensify the body’s reaction.’
Emphasis on ‘theorised’.
Deposition is discussed in the below link, and the comparison with iron is briefly mentioned.
Maybe donate some plasma afterward. There was a study about firefighters exposed to microplastics that had a statistical reduction after regular donations.
> I was kind of annoyed I wasn't offered and MRI, and here we are.
This paper isn’t saying that MRI contrast agent is high risk in general.
There’s a risk in misinterpreting these niche papers to overstate their relative risk. This is a common mistake when people start reading medical papers and begin overweighting the things they’ve read about as the most significant risks.
CT is cheaper than MRI, and it's harder to get insurance to pay for the latter. There are some legitimate diagnostic reasons to prefer CT imagery, but I think cost may be a more common deciding factor.
The data until recently suggested that, so thats the risk you take. Would you rather be living in ancient greece and shoved full of hemlock leaves for arthritis? Or have a 19th century surgeon remove your appendix?
There's risk in life and odds-wise if you're in the developed West, you're going to get care and medicine that will greatly prolong your life.
Also this paper is super vague. What percent of people even get this? How long does it last? They havent even done a study to see how long it lasts yet. I have a feeling this isnt going to be our generation's asbestos or thalidomide.
That being said, you should decide your own risk profile. If MRI gives you concerns there are alternatives that dont involve contrast.
But given our track record, a little humility would go along way.
When a highly educated doctor tells you that something is safe, a person is going to assume that means that someone somewhere has proven that the substance is safe. If what they really mean is that no one really knows, but so far, no experiments have been able to prove danger, then we should say that instead.
Literally every single medical procedure, down to the most mundane, has risks.
That's why we don't give MRI's out the wazoo. We actually gatekeep them a lot, and most research will tell you that investigative MRIs without chief complaints are a bad idea and we don't do them.
I had cancer. I had no MRIs, but multiple CT and PET scans. CT scans and PET scans have risk - they don't just do those for kicks. But you know what else has risks? Cancer. So there's a calculus here.
Every single medical procedure, down to getting your blood drawn, has this calculus. Nothing is risk free.
Around 10 years ago, I had an brain MRI with contrast. I specifically googled it and found a paper saying it builds up in the brain. I asked the MRI specialist about it, she was surprised I knew this and said she was familiar with the research. She mentioned that her professor also knew about it, but that the paper had other motivations, some conflict of interest, and that I shouldn't be worried. FFS.
Is this a study in rats? Is there any data beyond 48 hours?
The concentrations outside of the injection site are vanishingly small. And I would consider 48 hours to be pretty quick. If it was still around after a week I would be concerned. Not really sure what I'm supposed to take away from this.
drum55|4 months ago
smeej|4 months ago
You're making me feel lucky about what was otherwise a very unpleasant experience!
lostlogin|4 months ago
A chemist gave a great talk about this at a big MRI conference (ISMRM) in Paris 10ish years ago. His explanation was that gad behaves a lot like iron does in the body. It deposits where iron does and like iron it lacks a metabolic route for removal (though menstruating females lose iron).
He stated that deposition was entirely predictable. However the harm caused is still debated.
The article here says ‘ Dr Wagner theorized that nanoparticle formation could trigger a disproportionate immune response, with affected cells sending distress signals that intensify the body’s reaction.’
Emphasis on ‘theorised’.
Deposition is discussed in the below link, and the comparison with iron is briefly mentioned.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10791848/
notimetorelax|4 months ago
koolba|4 months ago
Pretty much just diluting it out of your system.
bamboozled|4 months ago
I hold a different opinion to you though, I'm glad doctors are always learning more while generally operating with good /extremely good intentions.
Aurornis|4 months ago
This paper isn’t saying that MRI contrast agent is high risk in general.
There’s a risk in misinterpreting these niche papers to overstate their relative risk. This is a common mistake when people start reading medical papers and begin overweighting the things they’ve read about as the most significant risks.
byryan|4 months ago
dreamcompiler|4 months ago
margalabargala|4 months ago
I agree. Expecting perfection from humans, even experts, is not reasonable and is frankly counterproductive.
Willful ignorance is one thing, but people who genuinely attempt to do the right thing at worst just need to be steered slightly differently.
torstenvl|4 months ago
A year ago, one insisted vehemently—to the point of yelling—that I shouldn't be supplementing Vitamin K because my potassium levels were fine.
zoeysmithe|4 months ago
There's risk in life and odds-wise if you're in the developed West, you're going to get care and medicine that will greatly prolong your life.
Also this paper is super vague. What percent of people even get this? How long does it last? They havent even done a study to see how long it lasts yet. I have a feeling this isnt going to be our generation's asbestos or thalidomide.
That being said, you should decide your own risk profile. If MRI gives you concerns there are alternatives that dont involve contrast.
appreciatorBus|4 months ago
But given our track record, a little humility would go along way.
When a highly educated doctor tells you that something is safe, a person is going to assume that means that someone somewhere has proven that the substance is safe. If what they really mean is that no one really knows, but so far, no experiments have been able to prove danger, then we should say that instead.
Krasnol|4 months ago
Here in Germany you have to sign something if they give you "stuff" informing you of possible risks. Something that always exists.
johnisgood|4 months ago
unknown|4 months ago
[deleted]
array_key_first|4 months ago
That's why we don't give MRI's out the wazoo. We actually gatekeep them a lot, and most research will tell you that investigative MRIs without chief complaints are a bad idea and we don't do them.
I had cancer. I had no MRIs, but multiple CT and PET scans. CT scans and PET scans have risk - they don't just do those for kicks. But you know what else has risks? Cancer. So there's a calculus here.
Every single medical procedure, down to getting your blood drawn, has this calculus. Nothing is risk free.
dsnr|4 months ago
Why? What are the risks of MRIs without contrast?
lossolo|4 months ago
throwup238|4 months ago
hammock|4 months ago
[deleted]
javascriptfan69|4 months ago
The concentrations outside of the injection site are vanishingly small. And I would consider 48 hours to be pretty quick. If it was still around after a week I would be concerned. Not really sure what I'm supposed to take away from this.
deeth_starr_v|4 months ago