Anti-Radiation Poison Pill Also Effective at Eliminating GBCAs from the Body

The chelator pill, a medication that was developed to rid the body of radioactive elements, has a 96 percent efficacy rate at preventinggadolinium from depositing in bodies of patients who have just undergone MRI, according to researchers from theU.S. Department of Energy ' s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) are used in around a third of all MRI procedures. They ’ve been a controversial topic in recent years, and traces of the agent can remain in the brain for years after screenings. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requiredhealthcare providers to issue a GBCA Medication Guide to patients and has demanded manufacturers to conduct more in-depth tests on possible side effects. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also taken action to  limitthe use of gadolinium. However, there might now be a way to benefit from GBCAs while eliminating their potential toxicity. Chemist Rebecca Abergel and her team have found that the hydroxpyridinone ligand, or HOPO chelator can rid the body of lethal radioactive chemical elements such as plutonium and lanthanides such as gadolinium. In their 2018 study published inNature’s Scientific Reports online, Abergel and her team reported that HOPO chelator did a better job removing gadolinium deposits than traditional chelators such asdiethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid, or DTPA." We also found that if we give the drug right before or right after the MRI, we can prevent up to 96% of the...
Source: radRounds - Category: Radiology Authors: Source Type: blogs