Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis

Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) is one of the rare degenerative disease-affecting patients suffering from severe kidney problems. It causes fibrosis- a build up of scar tissue – on the skin and on various internal organs like the diaphragm, heart and lung. One of its main symptoms is the sudden appearance of skin lesions on the legs, feet, arms and hands, sometimes accompanied by blisters, swelling and pain. These skin lesions are painful and unsightly looks like the orange’s skin; however, more significantly they can lead to crippling. Over the period, because of hardened skin patients fail to bend their joints, rob them of their ability to perform daily tasks and walk. Within few weeks, patients may get to wheel chair. Additionally, the scar tissues on internal organs may interfere with their functions, which may even lead to death.

Scientists have sturdily linked NSF with the usage of a chemical called gadolinium. It is a dye or agent injected to patients to make the blood vessels simpler to see in magnetic resonance angiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRA/ MRI). According to studies, more than 96 percent of patients in the United States have been exposed to gadolinium. In response, the United States Food and drug Administration issued a black box warning on the dye’s label, and research is being conducted to confirm this connection.

Precautionary Measures

Unfortunately, one of the best treatments for NSF is the prevention. Since June 2006, the FDA has issued three guidelines. Each guideline has strongly recommended that the health carte professionals or doctors should avoid using gadolinium in the patients suffering from moderate to end stage diseases of kidney. More particularly, the FDA has strongly recommended that the doctors or health care professionals should not use gadolinium for MRAs/ MRIs in the patients suffering from severe or chronic renal failure (kidney failure), with a glomerular filtration rate below or at 30 milliters a minute; or among the patients suffering from any level of renal dysfunction caused by liver problems. However, doctors are not prohibited from using the dyes among these patients but they should use it only if necessary. Even then, also, they are asked by FDA to ensure that they do not use more than the suggested dosage. Further, FDA has asked health care professionals to send these patients for hemodialysis as soon as possible.

Tentative Treatments:

Presently, there is no successful treatment for the patients suffering from NSF. In fact, this disease is new as it was first identified in the year 1997 that doctors, researchers and health care professionals are still investigating or working on several treatments to see which treatment offers the long-term benefit to the patient. Following treatments have helped some patients:

• Physical therapy, specifically deep massage and swimming have proved helpful for some patients in reducing the NSF effect on the joints of some patients.

• Oral steroids:

These are pills that have helped in improving the skin diseases of some patients. However, these pills are not effective on every patient, and may cause ulcers and high blood pressure, calcium deficiency, thus, making them unsuitable for many patients suffering from other health problems.

• Improving the Function of kidney

It is one of those treatments with the most consistent positive results. This includes medical treatments such as the hemodialysis or kidney transplant or both. In some cases, improved functions of kidney has reversed the course of NSF, it showed no effects in some other cases.

• Skin Ointments and Creams:

Skin creams and ointments like forms of cortisone and Vitamin D3; have helped some patients to fight with their skin symptoms.

Condition of few patients improved by using the drugs like cytoxin, thalidomide, pentoxifyline but these drugs had no widespread success. In the same way, two different types of blood treatments – extracorporeal photopheresis and plasmapheresis and ultra violet light therapy have proved beneficial for few patients. However, in most of these cases, more research is required.

Additionally, according to a recent study conducted by the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, doctors could stop NSF before it even starts if doctors successfully administers drug that inhibits a bodily enzyme called transglutaminase-2 (TG2). These researchers discovered much high levels of TG2 in the patients suffering from NSF suggesting that the enzyme helps in activating the disease. If that is true then there is high possibility that health care professionals may prevent NSF by prescribing those drugs that inhibits TG2.

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is an incurable and deadly disease that can immobilize and even kill a patient, already weakened by the renal failure (kidney failure). However, it is preventable if doctors or health care professionals work closely with the patient and their family by avoiding the use of gadolinium in the patients suffering from renal failure. As of December 2005, the Food and drug Administration identified 210 patients suffering from NSF across the world. Moreover, when the FDA officials reviewed the medical history of these 210 patients, they found that almost all of them were exposed to gadolinium.

If you or someone you know has been exposed to gadolinium then you may contact an experienced medical device attorney. He will help you in filing a lawsuit so that you may receive some monetary compensation for the loss of wages, medical expenses and other related costs.