Gadolinium Deposition Disease: Complicating Factors.

When NSF was in the peak phase of discover, the concept of co-factors was used to identify how individuals acquired NSF. In the end it was considered that there were no co-factors that invariably resulted in/ were essential for NSF, beyond severe renal failure and the use of a less stable linear GBCA. . But cofactors likely contribute to many.

In a different evaluation, regarding GDD. GDD may arise on its own, de novo, but it is clear to me that complicating factors are present that make: i) disease more severe, ii) recovery in general more challenging, iii) result in a greater number of chelations necessary to achieve near cure, iv) clinical findings that are, to date, irreversible, and V) are progressive with chelation.

Taking the overview, GDD has variable severity even when symptoms are the same between individuals. I like to use peanut allergy, as a comparison, as this scenario is well understood in this setting. A very few individuals are so sensitive that even inhaling aerosolized proteins from peanuts can result in dying from anaphylactic shock, to eating 20 peanuts and developing hives ( I fall into this latter camp of sensitivity).

As a rule, the number of GBCA injections x 5 is the number of chelations with DTPA one requires to obtain near cure. So with GDD, in general the fewer the number of GBCA injections, the fewer the number of chelations necessary. But If someone is deathly sick with GDD or has a particular set of symptoms after one injection, this may take 15 injections; and on the other hand another person who has been essentially fine for 10 GBCA injections, and then develops GDD on GBCA 11, clearly there is a difference in the level of immune reaction to Gd. In this latter situation, they may require fewer than # GBCAs x 5, although I have observed that once one develops GDDall the Gd retained from prior GBCA injections come into play, and much of that has to be removed.

Rather than co-factors, I like to describe other ongoing processes as complicating factors.

I illustrate some here:

Baseline, pure simple GDD: 1 GBCA injection > 5 chelations > near cure.
Complicating factor of recent major surgery or prior surgery with persistent disability: 1 GBCA injection > 10 chelations > near cure.
Complicating factor simple multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome (mild reactions to a few chemicals) > 7 chelations > near cure.
Complicated severe multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome (severe reaction to multiple chemicals) > 10 chelations sessions + > near cure. Where + maybe be 30 sessions.
10 GBCA injections, Severe multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome > should be 10 x 5 but may be 100 +.

on a more positive note

6 . 10 GBCA injections, Simple GDD developed after GBCA 9 > should be 10 x 5 chelation sessions, but may be 15.

7. The 'wild card' a genetic or acquired host defect that can be uncaged by GDD or by chelation for GDD. This occurs in fewer than 1 in 100 GDD sufferers.

The point I am making is that complicating factors can have a huge role in the number of chelations and extent of recovery.

In the end, my opinion is you only live once so you should always try. Things may work out better than they are expected to, and often even returning to 70% of what you were, is worth undergoing treatment.

There is an enormous list of complicating factors, essentially factors that throw off your immune system's ability to react properly to save your health and life; from simple ones, like excess exercise within 3 days pre or post GBCA injection to severe multisource excess oxidative stress syndrome. Issues that are avoidable should be avoided: too much exercise, therapy with potent antibiotics around the time of GBCA injection, recent vaccination for COVID, recent severe infection (also with COVID but others), recent surgery - anything that may throw your immune system off its game.

I the end you decide how many chelation sessions you want, in order to get to a health level you consider acceptable.

In a separate blog I will address findings that worry me in GDD sufferers.

Richard Semelka, MD