Chuck Norris Sues for the MRI Dye Gadolinium Injuring His Wife

I have often ordered MRIs for the patients who don't respond favorably to my care. Sometimes there is damage that is so severe, more than standard conservative care is needed. An MRI is a great tool to help me to determine is a patient's condition needs more aggressive treatments that I can provide, such as spinal decompression therapy, or even a possible referral to a surgeon.

The Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine was invented by Raymond Damadian and performed the first total body image in 1977.

Gadolinium is a chemical contrast medium or dye that is injected to enhance the quality of MRI images. Gadolinium is a toxic heavy metal that is bonded to a chelating agent, which does reduce the toxicity of gadolinium.

Gadolinium is known to be associated with neurological damage. The. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledges that repeated use of gadolinium based contrast agents (GBCAs) may result in gadolinium deposits in the brain and other tissues, but has not yet determined if there are any adverse health effects from these deposits.

To reduce accumulation, the FDA recommends the use GBCAs only when it is absolutely necessary. Known risks include kidney damage and accumulation in the brain. Symptoms of accumulation of gadolinium will be related to the organ systems affected and may include, but are not limited to; nausea, vomiting, central nervous system dysfunction, headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances.

There are a number of HD MRI units, such as the 3T, which will provide a much more enhanced image. This is an option rather than being exposed to gadolinium based dyes.

After undergoing three MRIs with GBCAs to evaluate her rheumatoid arthritis, Gena O'Kelley, the wife of Chuck Norris, began experiencing severe physical symptoms. Those symptoms began with a burning sensation in her skin. Gena described it as if there was acid burning her skin, slowly covering her body. She reports that she visited the emergency room five or six nights in a row, while doctors ran multiple tests for ALS, MS, cancer and Parkinson's disease. Those tests were all negative.

After five months of treatment in China and then in a clinic in Nevada, Gena was able to return home to her seven children for continued treatment by a physician in Houston. Chuck Norris shared their tax return records documenting $2 million over three years in uninsured medical expenses to help Gena return to health. Now they are suing 11 medical companies for not properly warning the couple and others about the potential dangers of using a GBCA for MRI contrasts.

Gena suffered confusion, muscle spasms, kidney damage and muscle wasting from a heavy metal contrast agent that her doctors told her would be cleared from her body within hours after the MRI.

The couple's attorney, Todd Walburg, told CBS News, "We have clients who have been misdiagnosed with Lyme disease, ALS, and then they've eventually ruled all those things out and the culprit remaining is the gadolinium."

The FDA has been aware of a strong association between gadolinium and kidney damage since 2006. They are also aware that GBCAs may deposit in organ and brain tissue. The FSA still insists the contrast dye is safe for use but states it will continue to assess its safety.

The couple filed this suit to draw attention to the gadolinium problem and hopefully help others who suffer from the physical effects of the contrast agent. Since you just read this blog, it seems that their message is coming across loud and clear.

I suggest to everyone to be your own healthcare advocate and to investigate drugs and medical procedures for safety and efficacy and then try determine if the benefits out way the risks.

What is considered safe today, might be considered a danger tomorrow. Thalidomide, Fen-Phen and Vioxx are just three examples and now gadolinium may someday soon be added to that dubious list.

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