Direct reactions of the MRI contrast agent K2[Gd(DTPA)(H2O)]·5H2O (1) (H5DTPA = diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) with dipotassium hydrogen phosphate (K2HPO4) or phosphite (K2HPO3) result in the isolation of well-defined Gd-DTPA phosphite K6[Gd2(DTPA)2(HPO3)]·7H2O (2) or phosphate K6[Gd2(DTPA)2(HPO4)]·10H2O (3), respectively. Their lanthanum analogs K4[La2(DTPA)2(H2O)]·8H2O (4), K6[La2(DTPA)2...

Extracellular gadolinium contrast agents (Gd-CA) are either linear or macrocyclic chelates available as ionic or non-ionic preparations. The molecular structure whether cyclic or linear and ionicity determines the stability of Gd-CA. Linear chelates are flexible open chains which do not offer a strong binding to Gd(3+). In contrast, the macrocyclic chelates offer a strong binding to Gd(3+) by t...

BACKGROUND Pruritus is the most common and distressing skin symptom, and treatment of itch is a problem for thousands of people. The currently available therapies are not very effective. Therefore there is an urgent need to find new effective topical drugs against itching. OBJECTIVE We conducted two separate studies to evaluate the efficacy of topically applied naltrexone, an opioid receptor ...

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is a new, rare disease of unknown cause that affects patients with renal failure. Single cases led to the suspicion of a causative role of gadodiamide that is used for magnetic resonance imaging. This study therefore reviewed all of the authors’ confirmed cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (n 13) with respect to clinical characteristics, gadodiamide exposure, a...

The established class of intravenous contrast media for magnetic resonance imaging is the gadolinium chelates, more generally referred to as the gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). These can be differentiated on the basis of stability in vivo, with safety and tolerability of the GBCAs dependent upon chemical and biologic inertness. This review discusses first the background in terms of de...

In current practice, gadolinium-based contrast agents have been considered safe when used at clinically recommended doses in patients without severe renal insufficiency. The causal relationship between gadolinium-based contrast agents and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with renal insufficiency resulted in new policies regarding the administration of these agents. After an effective s...

Introduction Non-contrast angiography emerges as an alternative method from contrast MRA due to the association of gadolinium based-agent with nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NFS). A non-contrast MRA technique using gated 3D Turbo Spin Echo has been reported for various clinical applications [1][2]. Recently, a novel technique using triggered non-selective refocused 3D SPACE or called NATIVE SPA...

Introduction Given the frequency of renal functional impairment in patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and concerns about nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, there is growing interest in unenhanced MRA (1,2). While promising, existing unenhanced MRA methods suffer from limitations that preclude robust clinical application for PVD. An ideal unenhanced method should be fast, easy to use, a...

Skin changes are common in patients on dialysis. This study focused on putative associations of specific skin findings with comorbidities and mortality.We performed a retrospective analysis of data from 508 patients on maintenance hemodialysis therapy in 7 centers in the German State of North Rhine Westphalia. Data had been collected by interview, from patient files, and from targeted physical ...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to provide a systematic safety analysis of gadobutrol after more than 29 million applications in clinical routine. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-two clinical development phase II to IV studies on gadobutrol or comparator and the postmarketing safety surveillance database for gadobutrol (1998-2015) were analyzed. Adverse events (AEs) and drug-related AEs were ...