Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is a rare syndrome that involves fibrosis of skin, joints, eyes, and internal organs. NSF is caused by exposure to gadolinium in gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents (GBCAs) in patients with impaired kidney function. Epidemiological studies suggest that the incidence of NSF is unrelated to gender or ethnicity and it is not thought to have a genetic basis. After GBCAs were identified as a cause of the disorder in 2006, and screening and prevention measures put in place, it is now considered rare. Signs and symptoms
Clinical features of NSF develop within days to months and, in some cases, years following exposure to some GBCAs. The main symptoms are the thickening and hardening of the skin associated with brawny hyperpigmentation, typically presenting in a symmetric fashion. The skin gradually becomes fibrotic and adheres to the underlying fascia. The symptoms initiate distally in the limbs and progress proximally, sometimes involving the trunk. Joint contractures of the fingers, elbows and knees can develop secondary to skin involvement and can severely impair physical function. While skin involvement is on the foreground, the process may involve any organ, e.g., the eye, heart, diaphragm, pleura, pericardium, and kidneys, as well as the lungs and liver. Causes
NSF is an iatrogenic disease caused by exposure to gadolinium-based contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging. Risk factors
Impaired kidney function reduces the clearance of GBCAs and is the major risk factor for the development of NSF.
Screening for impaired kidney function is routinely conducted and has drastically reduced the incidence of NSF. Treatment
Multiple therapies for NSF have been attempted, with variable clinical improvement. None have been as effective as restoration of kidney function. Restoration of kidney function by treating the underlying disease process, recovery from acute kidney injury (AKI), or performing a kidney transplant can slow or hold the progression of NSF. A few cases of curative kidney transplantation have been reported, and it is appropriate to consider transplantation as treatment. Epidemiology
NSF affects males and females in approximately equal numbers and has been reported in patients of different ethnic and geographic regions. It most often affects middle-aged individuals, but there are reports of cases occurring from childhood to senescence. History
This condition was originally termed "nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy" as initially only skin involvement in patients with impaired kidney function was observed, and later renamed "nephrogenic systemic fibrosis" to better describe its systemic nature. The term "gadolinium-associated systemic fibrosis" has also been proposed to reflect the fact that impaired kidney function is not in itself the cause of NSF.The first cases of NSF were identified in 1997, but it was first described as an independent disease entity in 2000. In 2006, the link between NSF and gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents was made.