Research on the Mineral Selenium
The following articles are presented as a reflection for
the use of ionic minerals selenium as a dietary supplement and nutritional supplement. You
will find more on selenium here. You can also
purchase this diet supplement below.
Vet Rec (ENGLAND) Oct 19 1996, 139 (16) p391-4
Because of the very low concentrations of selenium in the dry matter of grass, grass silage, hay and maize
silage Slovenian dairy herds need to be supplemented with selenium.
Selenium in the form of mineral and feed mixtures maintained adequate mean (sd) blood
serum selenium concentrations of 43.9 (27.6) to 65.3 (18.5)
micrograms/litre in lactating cows, but in late lactation and in the dry period when only
mineral mixtures were used, about 60 per cent of the cows had marginal serum selenium concentrations, mainly because of the low intake of the
mineral supplement. In 18 herds which were either unsupplemented or irregularly
supplemented with selenium, the mean (sd) concentrations in
blood serum were 13.7 (5.5) micrograms/litre and 17.4 (9.2) micrograms/litre,
respectively, for selenium and 2.98 (2.72) mg/litre and 1.62
(1.73) mg/litre for vitamin E, indicating that under extensive farming conditions in
Slovenia the lack of both micronutrients may be responsible for nutritional muscular
dystrophy in calves. Among 37 clinical cases, cardiorespiratory signs predominated in 25
of the calves and skeletal myopathy was dominant in 12. A very low mean serum selenium concentration [9.7 (7.2) micrograms/litre] and typically
high activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) [1125 (373) U/litre] and creatine
kinase (CK) [9169 (3681) U/litre) were observed for the myocardial form of the disease,
and 2797 (550) U/litre and 22,650 (13,500) U/litre were observed for the skeletal form of
the disease. A highly significant (P <0.0001) difference in the selenium
concentration of liver dry matter between the regularly supplemented [402 (207)
micrograms/kg] and irregularly supplemented [173 (69) micrograms/kg] herds was observed.
If a minimum value of 300 micrograms/kg of liver dry matter is accepted as the criterion
for the determination of adequate selenium status, 93 per
cent of the samples from the irregularly supplemented herds were selenium
deficient. A similar proportion was estimated to be selenium
deficient when the criterion was taken to be 30 micrograms selenium/litre
of blood serum.
J Am Vet Med Assoc (UNITED STATES) Jul 1 1996, 209 (1)
p130-6
OBJECTIVE--To identify common clinical and diagnostic
features of calves with aortic or iliac artery thrombosis that might aid in antemortem
diagnosis of this condition. DESIGN--Retrospective case series. ANIMALS--9 calves or
months old in which aortic or iliac artery thrombosis was confirmed at necropsy.
RESULTS--All calves had an acute onset of paresis or flaccid paralysis of 1 or both hind
limbs. Affected limbs were hypothermic and had diminished spinal reflexes and diminished
pulse pressures. Diagnosis was definitively established in 2 calves by use of angiography.
All 9 calves died or were euthanatized. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS--This condition is rare and
could be mistaken for more common diseases of young cattle, such as traumatic injury of
the axial or appendicular skeleton, vertebral osteomyelitis, nutritional muscular
dystrophy associated with vitamin E or selenium deficiency,
injury to the sciatic or femoral nerves, or clostridial myositis.
Nippon Rinsho (JAPAN) Jan 1996, 54 (1) p134-40
The concentration of selenium
(Se) and the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in plasma and erythrocytes were
measured in healthy men and in patients with Duchenne-type progressive muscular dystrophy
(DMD). In healthy men, the Se concentration in erythrocytes showed a steep rise with aging
and ascended gradually in plasma. The GSH-Px activity in both plasma and erythrocytes
clearly increased with aging. The relationship between the Se concentration and the GSH-Px
activity in healthy men showed a parallel rise with aging, but the coefficients of
correlation were not very high (r = 0.44 and 0.56 in plasma and erythrocytes,
respectively. In DMD patients, on the other hand, the Se concentration in erythrocytes
decreased steeply with aging, and it decreased gradually in plasma. The GSH-Px activity in
both plasma and erythrocytes apparently increased as in healthy men with aging, but the
level was about 80% of that of healthy men. When selenite (Se+4) is added to the whole
blood in vitro at 25 degrees C, it is rapidly taken up by erythrocytes (within several
minutes) and is then released into plasma (a period of 30 min), then subsequent reuptake
by erythrocytes is proceeded slowly. Our attention was attracted to the pattern of
selenite release from erythrocytes of DMD patients.
ARCH. OPHTHALMOL. (USA), 1993, 111/1 (104-109)
We evaluated the hypothesis that higher serum levels of
micronutrients with antioxidant capabilities may be associated with a decreased risk of
neovascular age-related macular degeneration by comparing serum levels of carotenoids,
vitamins C and E, and selenium in 421 patients with
neovascular age-related macular degeneration and 615 controls. Subjects were classified by
blood level of the micronutrient (low, medium, and high). Persons with carotenoid levels
in the medium and high groups, compared with those in the low group, had markedly reduced
risks of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, with levels of risk reduced to one
half and one third, respectively. Although no statistically significant protective effect
was found for vitamin C or E or selenium individually, an
antioxidant that combined all four micronutrient measurements showed statistically
significant reductions of risk with increasing levels of the . Although these results
suggest that higher blood levels of micronutrients with antioxidant potential, in
particular, carotenoids, may be associated with a decreased risk of the most visually
disabling form of age-related macular degeneration, it would be premature to translate
these findings into nutritional recommendations.
Gastroenterology (USA), 1996, 110/4 (1150-1155)
Background and Aims: Cirrhosis is a potentially lethal
condition for which there is no proven effective therapy. The aim of this study was to
compare the effects of hepatic stimulator substance, traditional Chinese herbal medicine, selenium plus vitamin E, and ciprofloxacin treatment on biochemical
and histological features of fibrosis in rats with carbon tetrachloride
(CCl4)/ethanol-induced cirrhosis. Methods: One hundred twenty adult Wistar rats were
divided into six study groups (20 rats/group): healthy controls, CCl4/ethanol-injured rats
left untreated, and CCl4/ethanol-injured rats treated for 4 weeks with either hepatic
stimulator substance, traditional Chinese herbal medicine, a combination of selenium plus vitamin E, or ciprofloxacin. After the 4-week
treatment, rats were killed and the following parameters of hepatic fibrosis were
determined: hepatic hydroxyproline and proline levels, serum hyaluronic acid
concentrations, and histological staining of hepatic tissue. Results: Hepatic fibrosis was
significantly improved in all four treated groups compared with the untreated
CCl4/ethanol-injured controls. Improvements were most striking in the groups treated with
traditional Chinese herbal medicine and ciprofloxacin. Conclusions: The data indicate that
hepatic stimulator substance, traditional Chinese herbal medicine, selenium
plus vitamin E, and ciprofloxacin significantly decrease the amount of hepatic fibrosis
caused by CCl4/ethanol injury in rats.
Nutrition Research (USA), 1996, 16/9 (1607-1612)
Male albino rats, age 28 days, were fed a diet containing
both vitamin E (10 g/kg) and selenium (5 mg/kg) or a diet
lacking these antioxidants. Animals were examined for renal function after 4, 8, 12 and 16
wk on the respective diets. After 8 wk, animals on the deficient diet weighed less than
controls (15%, P <0.01), and this became more pronounced by 16 weeks (25%, P <0.01).
Expressed on a body weight basis, kidney wet weights did not differ between the two groups
of animals. Urine volume increased in the animals fed the deficient diet at 8 weeks (66%,
P <0.01) and this was maintained at 16 weeks (35%, P <0.01). Similar increases were
observed for the rates of excretion of urinary total protein (77% elevation at 16 wk, P
<0.01) and urinary acid phosphatase (51% elevation, P <0.01). At 16 wk, the specific
activity of renal acid phosphatase in the animals given the deficient diet was reduced in
cortex (57%, P <0.01) and medulla (20%, P <0.01), but not in papilla. These data
indicate that dietary antioxidant deficiency causes progressive and pronounced renal
damage.
Med Hypotheses (ENGLAND) Jun 1993, 40 (6) p364-6
Reid found selenium (Se)
deficient soils were a common factor in two populations with the highest incidence of SIDS
world-wide (Indian population of King County Washington State, USA and the population of
Canterbury, New Zealand). Reid compared a map of the selenium
responsive livestock areas in New Zealand with areas of low soil iodine (I). She found
that the 1989 report of areas of the highest SIDS incidence coincided with Se responsive
livestock areas combined with low soil iodine. Foster found the 1983-84 incidence of SIDS
in USA has the strongest positive correlation with the incidence of goitre in World War I
troops (1916). Sodium and strontium were positively related. Emery found a hypernatraemic
SIDS victim in a very cold environment. Robertson and Parker associated increased sodium
(Na) (used in Scunthorpe, England, as a water softener) with increased incidence of SIDS.
Godwin's study of White Muscle Disease in lambs describes Se protection. Skeletal muscle
mitochondria from dystrophic animals showed lowered respiratory rates with
palmitoyl-dl-carnitine and acetyl-dl-carnitine as substrate. Dystrophic organelles failed
to respond to ADP. Rognun found elevated hypoxanthine and an enhanced immune response in
most SIDS victims. A syndrome associated with potassium deficiency has been described as a
killer of healthy, young Asian men, most often during sleep. This paper describes the
interactions of sodium (Na), potassium (K), selenium (Se),
and iodine (I) to some factors affecting the utilization of oxygen and the production of
energy. (19 Refs.)
Med Hypotheses (ENGLAND) Mar 1981, 7 (3) p271-83
Sodium restriction is not the only nutritional measure
likely to prove valuable in the treatment and prevention of hypertension. The hypotensive
effects of central adrenergic stimulation can be promoted by supplementary tyrosine,
insulin potentiation (as with GTF), and (possibly) high-dose pyridoxine. Insulin
potentiators (GTF) and prostaglandin precursors (essential fatty acids) should have direct
relaxant effects on vascular muscle. A high potassium, low sodium diet, coenzyme Q, and
prevention of cadmium toxicity (as with dietary selenium) may
act to offset renally-mediated pressor influences. Functional combinations of these
measures might prove to be substantially effective, in which case they would offer
considerable advantages over potentially toxic drug therapies.
Ann Epidemiol (UNITED STATES) Sep 1993, 3 (5) p571-5
The evidence that treatment of hypertension prevents stroke
is incontrovertible. Several observations, however, suggest that improvements in the
prevalence of antihypertensive treatment cannot explain all of the recent decline in
stroke mortality. Changes in nutritional patterns may explain some of the observed
decline. Prospective studies have demonstrated conclusively an independent, increasing
risk of hemorrhagic, but not thrombotic, stroke at higher levels of alcohol use. Stroke
mortality is associated inversely with fat and protein intake. Dietary sodium has been
linked to stroke in ecologic studies but not in prospective studies. Ecologic studies have
suggested that foods high in vitamin C and potassium protect against stroke; an inverse
association of potassium intake with fatal stroke has been demonstrated in cohort studies.
Two studies in humans also suggest a protective effect of serum selenium
against subsequent stroke. Determination of the influence of nutrients on stroke incidence
offers tantalizing opportunities for future research and possibly, intervention.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (United Kingdom),
1997, 51/4 (266-272)
Objectives: Antioxidant defense status was investigated in
HIV-infected patients by measuring serum selenium,
erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, plasma thiol (-SH) and glutathione
(GSH) concentrations along with the assessment of the clinical stage and surrogate markers
of HIV-disease. Design, setting and subjects: Serum selenium
levels were determined cross-sectionally in 104 sequentially selected HIV-infected
patients (83 outpatients and 21 patients with ongoing AIDS defining events). The patients
were classified into three stages of the disease, I, II and III according to the 1993
Centers For Disease Control (CDC) classification system for HIV-infection. GSH-Px
activities, plasma SH and plasma GSH concentrations were determined in a subset of 24
patients at stage I and 12 patients at stage III with an active AIDS-defining disease.
Results: Mean serum selenium levels were lower in CDC stage
II (68.7 plus or minus 20.9 microg/l; P <0.01; n="34)" and stage III (51.4
plus or minus 14.7 microg/l; P ( 0.01; n="37)" HIV-infected patients than in
healthy subjects (89.2 plus or minus 20.9 microg/l; n="72)" and stage I patients
(82.3 plus or minus 20.5; microg/l; n="33)." Serum selenium
levels were positively correlated with CD4-count (r="0.42;" P < 0.001;
n="104)" and inversely with levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors
type II (r="-0.58;" P < 0.01; n="35)," neopterin
(r="-0.5;" P < 0.001; n="80)" and beta2-microglobulin
(r="-0.4;" P < 0.001; n="94)." Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and
HIV-coinfected patients at CDC stages I and II showed markedly lower selenium
concentrations compared to HIV-infected patients without concomitant HCV-infection. Serum selenium and GSH-Px activity in hospitalized AIDS patients was
significantly lower as compared to asymptomatic patients and healthy subjects, whereas
plasma SH and GSH concentrations were lower in both, asymptomatic and AIDS-patients, than
in the controls. Conclusion: The results show that stages I-III of HIV-disease are
characterized by significant impairments of antioxidative defenses provided by selenium, GSH-Px, SH-groups and GSH.
Mail Order Form Click
Here!
View Shopping Cart / Checkout