Gadolinium

Changed by Daniel J Bell, 20 Feb 2019

Updates to Article Attributes

Body was changed:

Gadolinium (chemical symbol Gd) is a metallic element that can be chelated into paramagnetic complexes that are usedfor use as gadolinium contrast agentsmedia.

Chemistry

Basic chemistry

Gadolinium is a silvery rare earth metal with the atomic number 64 and an atomic weight of 157.25 g/mol.

Applied chemistry

The gadolinium ion is useful as an MRI agent because it has seven unpaired electrons, which is the greatest number of unpaired electron spins possible for an atom.

Gadolinium molecules shorten spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) of voxels in which they are present. As a result, on T1-weighted images they have a brighter signal. This can have a number of uses:

Excretion 

Most gadolinium contrast agents are excreted through the renal system and therefore have a prolonged half-life in renal failure.

Toxicity

There is a recognised association between gadolinium administration and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with renal failure 2. More recently concern has arisen of deposition of gadolinium in various tissues in the body (e.g. dentate nucleus of the cerebellum, globus pallidus) however, the clinical significance of these depositions is still unknown 4

  • -<p><strong>Gadolinium </strong>(chemical symbol <strong>Gd</strong>) is a metallic element that can be chelated into paramagnetic complexes that are used as <a href="/articles/mri-contrast-agents">MRI contrast agents</a>.</p><h4>Chemistry</h4><h5>Basic chemistry</h5><p>Gadolinium is a silvery rare earth metal with the atomic number 64 and an atomic weight of 157.25 g/mol.</p><h5>Applied chemistry</h5><p>The gadolinium ion is useful as an MRI agent because it has seven unpaired electrons, which is the greatest number of unpaired electron spins possible for an atom.</p><p>Gadolinium molecules shorten <a href="/articles/t1-weighted-image">spin-lattice relaxation time</a> (T1) of <a href="/articles/voxel">voxels</a> in which they are present. As a result, on <a href="/articles/t1-weighted-image">T1-weighted images</a> they have a brighter signal. This can have a number of uses:</p><ul>
  • +<p><strong>Gadolinium </strong>(chemical symbol <strong>Gd</strong>) is a metallic element that can be chelated into paramagnetic complexes for use as <a href="/articles/gadolinium-contrast-agents">gadolinium contrast media</a>.</p><h4>Chemistry</h4><h5>Basic chemistry</h5><p>Gadolinium is a silvery rare earth metal with the atomic number 64 and an atomic weight of 157.25 g/mol.</p><h5>Applied chemistry</h5><p>The gadolinium ion is useful as an MRI agent because it has seven unpaired electrons, which is the greatest number of unpaired electron spins possible for an atom.</p><p>Gadolinium molecules shorten <a href="/articles/t1-weighted-image">spin-lattice relaxation time</a> (T1) of <a href="/articles/voxel">voxels</a> in which they are present. As a result, on <a href="/articles/t1-weighted-image">T1-weighted images</a> they have a brighter signal. This can have a number of uses:</p><ul>
  • -</ul><p> </p><h4>Excretion </h4><p>Most gadolinium contrast agents are excreted through the renal system and therefore have a prolonged half-life in <a href="/articles/chronic-kidney-disease">renal failure</a>.</p><h4>Toxicity</h4><p>There is a recognised association between gadolinium administration and <a href="/articles/nephrogenic-systemic-fibrosis">nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF)</a> in patients with renal failure <sup>2</sup>. More recently concern has arisen of deposition of gadolinium in various tissues in the body (e.g. dentate nucleus of the cerebellum, globus pallidus) however, the clinical significance of these depositions is still unknown <sup>4</sup>. </p>
  • +</ul><h4>Excretion </h4><p>Most gadolinium contrast agents are excreted through the renal system and therefore have a prolonged half-life in <a href="/articles/chronic-kidney-disease">renal failure</a>.</p><h4>Toxicity</h4><p>There is a recognised association between gadolinium administration and <a href="/articles/nephrogenic-systemic-fibrosis">nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF)</a> in patients with renal failure <sup>2</sup>. More recently concern has arisen of deposition of gadolinium in various tissues in the body (e.g. dentate nucleus of the cerebellum, globus pallidus) however, the clinical significance of these depositions is still unknown <sup>4</sup>. </p>

Sections changed:

  • Pathology

Updates to Primarylink Attributes

Updates to Synonym Attributes

ADVERTISEMENT: Supporters see fewer/no ads

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.