Gadolinium

Gadolinium (Gd) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-25 · the last 10 years

Gadolinium’s research intensity stands at about 93% of its all-time peak, a level reached during this window.

Research intensity ran from about 97% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 93% in 2026 — a mid-window dip followed by a recovery, and the all-time peak (2017) falls inside this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements held steady. Among the 118 elements, gadolinium has a mid-sized research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 8,500 in 2016 to about 14,993 in 2025 (1.76x). That is slower than the literature as a whole grew over the same years, so the element lost ground in the wider body of research even as its own count rose.

The largest research community is Gadolinium Enhancement for Myocardial Fibrosis and Inflammation, which accounts for about 28% of the element's recent research. These papers use gadolinium contrast to detect late enhancement, identifying myocardial fibrosis and active inflammation in cardiomyopathy and sarcoidosis. Gadolinium is a minor presence in a much larger community, with about 10% of its papers involving the element. The share of this community has remained steady over the window. A key paper in this area is "Outcomes of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients Recently Recovered From Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)" (2020), cited over 2,300 times.

The second major community is Gadolinium Retention and Deposition in MRI Safety, representing about 27% of recent research. This work investigates the long-term retention and deposition of gadolinium in the brain and body following repeated contrast-enhanced MRI scans. Gadolinium is one strand of a broader community, with about 17% of its papers involving the element. This community has seen a declining share, dropping from about 35% in the earlier period to its current level. A significant contribution here is "Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis" (2021), cited over 1,200 times.

A smaller, steady community is Gadolinium Host Lattices for Lanthanide Phosphors, holding about 3% of the element's research. These papers synthesize gadolinium oxide, molybdate, and garnet matrices to host activators like europium for luminescent applications. Gadolinium is a minor presence in this much larger community, with about 2% of its papers involving the element. The share has remained steady. An anchor paper is "Structural and temperature dependence luminescence characteristics of RE (RE=Eu3+, Dy3+, Sm3+ and Tb3+) in the new gadolinium aluminate borate phosphor" (2023), cited about 80 times.

Overall, the composition of gadolinium research has shifted slightly, with the myocardial fibrosis community holding steady while the MRI safety community lost share to the remainder of the literature. The other research communities, which hold about 41% of the element's work, have maintained a steady share.

For a deeper look at the current state of gadolinium research, see the element's Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.