Are Boxing Commission Medicals Destroying Health?

Tag : gadolinium metal
It appears The medicals giving by many USA Boxing Commissions couldvery well be doing more harm than good. I am not a Doctor but knowhow to read and what I am seeing looks very dangerous to any Boxershealth. Any Boxer who has taken an MRI or MRA and has a tattoo orany metal in there body (which I assume to include fusions,fillings or plates ) Have a serious chance of developing lifeending kidney problems I am enclosing a few articles. You will findmany more if you go to Google type in MRI or MRA hit search then goto the bottom of the page hit search within results and type inproblems and see what comes up. Also many states are still givingcatscans to Boxers . Well now it has been made public that at least1 in every 1000 CATSCAN PATENTS ARE DEVELOPING BRAIN CANCER and themore Catscans you take the more at risk you are. For instance if aFighter fights pro for say 15 years and has stopped 5 times in thatperiod he would have to take at least 20 catscans. I think withthose kind of odds the chances of getting BRAIN CANCER are verygood. This is a very serious issue that needs to be dealt with atonce and all fighters, managers, promoters, trainers and anybodyelse associated with the sport should get hold of there localcommissions as well as local politicins to check into this matter.THIS IS NO BULLSHIT AND TIME IS OF THE ESSENSE!

Gadolinium based MRI contrast agents have been linked to thedevelopment of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in individualswith kidney insufficiencies. If the manufacturers of these contrastagents had properly conducted studies of their product or analyzedreports and other clinical data, they could have warned earlierabout the potential MRI problems. Earlier warnings may haveprevented the disabling and painful condition experienced byhundreds, or potentially thousands, of individuals.

>>INFORMATION: MRI Contrast Problems

Gadolinium is highly toxic metal which is used in the MRI contrastdyes because it is drawn to magnetic fields. When injected beforean MRI or MRA, the contrast allows the physician to differentiateblood vessels from nearby tissue when interpreting the exam.

The contrast agent is administered as a chelate, which is supposedto protect the body from the toxic free gadolinium. However,individuals with kidney insufficiencies may not eliminate thecontrast from their body, and defects in the design of some thecontrast agents could allow the gadolinium to separate from itschelate, causing NSF.

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), previously known asnephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD), is a progressive disorderwhich is associated with the development of scarring of the skinand connective tissue throughout the body. It can result in ahardening and thickening of the skin, which could be described asleathery, rigid or course. The hard and thick skin can severelyrestrict movement of the joints, and is painful and extremelydisabling. The fibrosis can also effect other internal organs, andin some cases it can lead to death.

>>INFORMATION: NSF Symptoms

WARNINGS ABOUT MRI PROBLEMS
The first written accounts of individuals with kidney problemsexperiencing a hardening and thickening of their skin following anMRI were published in medical literature in 2000. However, reportsindicate that the condition was observed by some doctors as earlyas 1997.

It was not until 2006 that the first warnings were issued aboutproblems with the MRI contrast agents. In 2006, the FDA warned thatphysicians should carefully assess the need for gadolinium MRI dyein patients with moderate to end state renal disease due to therisk of NSF. In May 2007, a prominent black box warning was addedto the contrast agents, indicating that the serious MRI problemscould result for those with kidney insufficiencies.

Since the information about potential problems was released,independent researchers and physicians have been able to evaluatethe risk and come up with steps to reduce the chances of NSFdeveloping. In July 2007, the American College of Radiology, addedinformation to their guidelines on MRI safety about the problemsand recommended steps that could be taken to reduce the risk ofnephrogenic systemic fibrosis if an enhanced MRI is needed forsomeone with kidney problems.

The companies which make the MRI contrast agents should havedesigned their products to ensure that the toxic gadolinium is notreleased into the patient’s body. In addition, they shouldhave conducted research on the impact their product would have onthose with kidney insufficiencies and warn about the potentialproblems.

The lawyers at Saiontz, Kirk & Miles, P.A. are reviewing MRIlaw suits throughout the United States for individuals who haveexperienced symptoms of NSF after an MRI or MRA with contrast.Problems could include dark patches, burning, itching, swelling,hardening or tightening of the skin, which usually develops on thearms, hands, legs or feet.

If warnings about the MRI problems had been provided earlier, thosewho are now suffering from nephrogenic systemic fibrosis may havebeen able to avoid the devastating condition. If you, a friend orfamily member are concerned that problems following an MRI or MRAmay be related to the gadolinium based contrast agent, determine ifyou may be eligible for a claim by requesting a free consultation.

Nashville, TN: Gotta love those man-made diseases. In an era wheremodern medicine is designed to eradicate disease, modern medicineis not above creating disease, either. Such is the case with MRIand kidney failure and, specifically, Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis(NSF), a debilitating disease only recently recognized and linkeddirectly to gadolinium contrast dyes used in MRI procedures done onpatients with pre-existing kidney problems.

The disorder is characterized by high blood pressure, burning,itching,swelling and hardening of the skin. The latter has beenlikened to becoming entombed in one's own skin, and has beendescribed by those made who suffer from horrific NSF as 'hell onearth.'

That has certainly been the case for Jeanie Deason, a kidneypatient in Tennessee who underwent an MRI with a gadolinium-basedcontrasting agent and is now comfined to bed with painful hardeningof her skin and joints. The poor woman's NSF has progressed to thepoint where her legs and right arm have frozen into a bentposition, and she now requires 24-hour care. The only time Deasoncan make it up from her mattress is when her parents help her intothe bathroom.

Deason even had to miss her daughter's graduation.

MRI, or Magnetic Imaging Resonance, has been a boon for the earlydetection of disease-causing tumors and has been hailed as one ofthe greatest advancements in modern medicine. Contrasting agentsare routinely used in an effort to provide a clearer picture forthe MRI technologist, and gadolinium-based agents are commonlyused. While gadolinium is not found naturally in the human body andis by nature toxic, the kidneys are in most cases efficient inexpelling the toxin from the human body in short order, preventingany kind of gadolinium toxicity.

However, that assumes properly functioning kidneys. Patients withweak or malfunctioning kidneys wind up with gadolinium in theirbodies for far longer, assuming the failing kidneys can get rid ofit, at all.

The latter produces MRI health risks and forms the basis for NSF,and the connection between NSF and the use of gadolinium-basedcontrasting agents during MRI procedures appears to be irrefutable.Researchers at Yale University have reported that the vast majorityof patients they have studied with NSF symptoms—95percent—had undergone an MRI with gadolinium two, to threemonths before their symptoms appeared. Further, researchers atMassachusetts General Hospital report that kidney patients havingundergone MRI with gadolinium were 10 times more likely to developNSF than patients who had not been exposed to gadolinium.

Deason's condition has worsened, but there is renewed hope for herhowever. An experimental procedure dubbed extracorporealphotopheresis (EP) has the potential for reversing Deason's plight.EP involves removing blood from a patient's body, exposing it toultraviolet light, then re-infusing the exposed blood into thepatient. The exposure to UV is thought to bolster the body'snatural immune system for fighting disease, and researchers havebeen buoyed by results that have been described as dramatic.However, the cost of the treatment is prohibitive, at $8000 per.Deason's HMO, TennCare, originally refused to fund the treatmentbecause it was experimental. However, in April a judge in DavidsonCounty Chancery Court overruled TennCare's position, acknowledgingthat while the treatment was experimental, it was in Deason's casemedically necessary. Just recently the HMO decided not to appeal,so Deason's treatment can go ahead.

She just wishes the treatment could have been started two yearsago, before the NSF had progressed to the point it has today.That's when her fight with her HMO reportedly started.

Since a link between gadolinium-based contrasting agents and theappearance of NSF in kidney patients has been discovered, the USFood and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated a black box warning forgadolinium-based contrasting agents in association with the onsetof NSF, and has also warned that patients with kidney diseaseshould avoid gadolinium-based agents.

It has been reported previously that any patient in line for an MRIusing gadolinium-based agents should be screened for kidneymalfunction first— and as a last resort, should gadolinium berequired, the kidney patient should undergo dialysis immediatelythereafter, to rid the body of the gadolinium agent the kidneyscannot expel on their own.

Should these precautions not take place and a patient develops NSF,a call to a legal professional would be in order.

www.lawyersandsettlements.com

The plan includes CT scans every two years to look for signs oflung cancer, but the medical association argues the risk of causingcancer with repeated high doses of radiation outweighs thepotential benefits of routine screening.

"We tend to just accept X-rays and CTs and MRIs and PET scansas routine medical care that has no potential adverse risk,"said Evan Jenkins, the association's executive director and a statesenator representing Cabell County. "The public, we think,needs to be better informed that these kinds of scans do haverisks."

Jenkins said the association isn't trying to make a politicalstatement, but does routinely file friend-of-the-court briefs onemerging issues. It wants the Supreme Court to think hard aboutmedical monitoring plans.