MRIs pose risk for nerve stimulators

People with implanted nerve stimulators to treat brain, spinal or other disorders may risk comas, serious injury or death if they undergo magnetic resonance imaging scans, U.S. regulators warned last week.

The Food and Drug Administration said it had received several reports of serious injuries in patients with the stimulators who underwent MRIs.

The reports involved patients with deep-brain or vagus nerve stimulators, but similar injuries could occur with any type of implanted neurological stimulator, the FDA said in an advisory on its website. Deep-brain stimulators are used as therapy for Parkinson’s disease, and vagus nerve stimulators treat epilepsy.

The problems likely occur because electrodes attached to wires can be heated and damage nearby tissue, the FDA said.