What is systemic fibrosis?
Overview. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is a rare disease that occurs mainly in people with advanced kidney failure with or without dialysis. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis may resemble skin diseases, such as scleroderma and scleromyxedema, with thickening and darkening developing on large areas of the skin.
Is nephrogenic systemic fibrosis fatal?
Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is a progressive, potentially fatal multiorgan system fibrosing disease related to exposure of patients with renal failure to the gadolinium-based contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging.
Can Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis be cured?
here is no cure for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, and no treatment is consistently successful in halting or reversing the progression of the disease. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis only occurs rarely, making it difficult to conduct large studies.
What causes nephrogenic systemic fibrosis?
Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), also known as nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD), is a disease of fibrosis of the skin and internal organs reminiscent but distinct from scleroderma or scleromyxedema. It is caused by gadolinium exposure used in imaging in patients who have renal insufficiency.
What causes dermal fibrosis?
Dermal fibrosis may result from a variety of insults including trauma, irradiation or such diseases as scleroderma. Not only is fibrosis disfiguring but it may also lead to death due to loss of function and fibrosis of internal organs, as occurs in scleroderma or cirrhosis of the liver.
How is NSF treated?
Two procedures that have been used to treat individuals with NSF include extracorporeal (outside the body) photopheresis and plasmapheresis. During photopheresis, the blood of an affected individual is withdrawn and treated with a drug that sensitizes the blood to ultraviolet light.
How do you detox from gadolinium?
How do I detox my body from gadolinium? We have found that chelation therapy and the use of specific oral supplements is the best detox for most patients. Chelation is especially valuable – a procedure which uses a specific binding agent to capture and remove gadolinium from the body.
How many people have nephrogenic systemic fibrosis?
The exact incidence or prevalence of the disorder is not known, although cases have been identified all over the world, typically in developed countries. More than 375 cases have been identified by the NSF Registry. The disorder can affect children, adults or the elderly.
What can cause NSF?
What causes nephrogenic systemic fibrosis? Most, if not all, cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis are caused by exposure to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA). Exposure occurs when the chemical element gadolinium is used to enhance images gathered in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).