Ten years of gadolinium retention and deposition: ESMRMB-GREC looks backward and forward

In 2014, for the first time, visible hyperintensities on unenhanced T1-weighted images in the nucleus dentatus and globus pallidus of the brain were associated with previous Gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) injections and gadolinium deposition in patients with normal renal function. This led to a frenzy of retrospective studies with varying methodologies that the European Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology Gadolinium Research and Educational Committee (ESMRMB-GREC) summarised in 2019. Now, after 10 years, the members of the ESMRMB-GREC look backward and forward and review the current state of knowledge of gadolinium retention and deposition. Clinical relevance statement Gadolinium deposition is associated with the use of linear GBCA but no clinical symptoms have been associated with gadolinium deposition. Key Points • Traces of Gadolinium-based contrast agent-derived gadolinium can be retained in multiple organs for a prolonged time. • Gadolinium deposition is associated with the use of linear Gadolinium-based contrast agents. • No clinical symptoms have been associated with gadolinium deposition.