There are two different types of gadolinium contrast agents; macrocyclic agents and linear agents. A study published last year in the journal Investigative Radiology found that the linear agents can cause “significant and persistent” MR abnormalities.

“The linear chelates have the potential to release gadolinium far, far more and far, far easier than the macrocyclic chelates, and thus, the reason that the linear GBCAs lead to MR abnormalities and the macrocyclic GBCAs do not,” Dr. Val M. Runge of the University Hospital of Zurich told HCB News.


Runge said those findings would likely cause certain GBCAs to fall out of use since patients are going to prefer to be injected with the less stable agents.

According to new research, GBCAs might not even be necessary in the future, which could alleviate the need for more research evaluating the effects and treatment of gadolinium toxicity.

Researchers at Oxford University have developed a technique that shows healthy and diseased heart tissue in greater detail on MR images without the use of contrast agents, and are looking to apply the technique to other organs and hope to translate it into clinical use within the next five years.

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