Selenium supplementation

The bad guys, shown in pink in Figure 2.8, are toxic, often lethal, even in relatively small quantities. Several of the essential trace elements become toxic if their concentrations in the body increase. Selenium is a case in point. You need about 0.00005 g/day to maintain good health, but 0.001 g/day can be deadly. That s a good thing to keep in mind if you re taking selenium supplements. 

Tolonen, M., Halme, M. and Sama, S. (1985). Vitamin E and selenium supplementation in geriatric patients. A doubleblind preliminary clinical trial. Biol. Trace Element Res. 7, 161-168. 

Trace elements are essential cofactors for numerous biochemical processes. Trace elements that are added routinely to PN include zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, and chromium. There are various commercial parenteral trace element formulations that can be added to PN admixtures (e.g., MTE-5 ). Zinc is important for wound healing, and patients with high-output fistulas, diarrhea, burns, and large open wounds may require additional zinc supplementation. Patients may lose as much as 12 to 17 mg zinc per liter of gastrointestinal (GI) output (e.g., from diarrhea or enterocutaneous fistula losses) however, others have demonstrated that 12 mg/day may be adequate to maintain these patients in positive zinc balance.18 Patients with chronic diarrhea, malabsorption, and short-gut syndrome may have increased selenium losses and may require additional selenium supplementation. Patients with severe cholestasis should have copper and manganese... 

Oliver, M.N., D.A. Jessup, and B.B. Norman. 1990a. Selenium supplementation of mule deer in California. Trans. Western Sec. Wildl. Soc. 26 87-90. 

Wang, D., G. Alfthan, A. Aro, A. Makela, S. Knuuttila, and T. Fiammar. 1995. The impact of selenium supplemented fertilization on selenium in lake ecosystems in Finland. Agricul. Ecosys. Environ. 54 137-148. Wang, W.X., N.S. Fisher, and S.N. Luoma. 1996. Kinetic determinations of trace element bioaccumulation in the mussel Mytilus edulis. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 140 91-113. 

Baudouin, et al. In vitro and in vivo immunotoxic and immunomodulatory effects of nonsupplemented and selenium-supplemented cigarette smoke condensate. Biomed Pharmacother... 

Prostate cancer effect. Saw palmetto, vitamin E, and selenium supplements were used by 26.5% of the questioned men diagnosed with prostate cancer . PC-SPES, an herbal mixture of chrysanthemum, isatis, licorice, Ganoderrm lucidum, Panax pseudo-ginseng, Rabdosia rubescens, saw palmetto. 

The reputations of the elements continue to be shaped by folklore and received wisdom as much as by an understanding of their quantitative effects. Is aluminium, then, good in the mineral brighteners of washing powders but bad in pots and pans Copper salts can be toxic, but copper bracelets are rumoured to cure arthritis. We take selenium supplements to boost fertility, while selenium contamination of natural waters devastates Californian ecosystems. Which of us can say whether 0.01 milligrams of potassium in our bottled water is too little or too much ... 

Hyperoxia was found to encourage the accumulation of primary and end-products of lipid peroxidation together with a significant lowering of the vitamin E content of rat brain tissue [152]. The consequence of hyperoxia was epileptiform seizures, which were prevented by vitamin E or synthetic antioxidant pre-injection. Other workers [153] have found that protection against hyperoxia is directly related to the level of vitamin E or selenium supplementation. However, some [ 154] have indicated no beneficial effects for vitamin E in reducing oxygen toxicity. 

XiaJ, Hill KE, Byrne DW, etal, Effectiveness of selenium supplements in a low-selenium area of China, Am J Clin Nutr 2005 81 829-834,... 

Reid ME, Duffield-Lillico AJ, Garland L, etal. Selenium supplementation and lung cancer incidence an update of the Nutritional Prevention Cancer Trial. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 2002 11 1285-1291. 

Numerous scientists have also demonstrated that dietary selenium supplementation can inhibit chemical carcinogen induced tumorigenesis in skin, liver, colon and mammary tissue (19-45)... 

Crocker sarcoma and Mecca lymphosarcoma tumors were found to accumulate the radioselenium slowly and continuously in contrast to rapid uptake and clearance of the label from most normal organs. Clinically, the affinity of tumors for selenium has been the basis for utilizing a radioactive nuclide of selenium as a tumor localizing agent (62, 64) The reason for the localization of selenium is not readily apparent but may reflect enhanced division rates, protein and chondroitin sulfate biosynthesis, or a decrease in the detoxification of selenium. An outgrowth of these observations has been to examine the in vitro effects of selenium supplementation on cellular propagation. 

Brown, K.M., Pickard, K., Nicol, F., Beckett, G.J., Duthie, G.G., and Arthur, J.R. 2000. Effects of organic and inorganic selenium supplementation on selenoenzyme activity in blood lymphocytes, granulocytes, platelets and erythrocytes. Clin. Sci. 98, 593-599. 

Kumpulainen, J., Salmenpera, L., Simes, M.A., Koivistonen, P., and Perheentupa, J. 1985. Selenium status of exclusively breast-fed infants as influenced by maternal organic and inorganic selenium supplementation. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 42, 829-835. 

Olmsted, L., Schrauzer, G.N., Flores-Arce, M., and Dowd, J. 1988. Selenium supplementation of symptomatic immunodeficiency virus infected patients. Biol. Trace Elem. Res. 15, 167—177. 

Peretz, A., Neve, J., Duchateau, J., Siderova, V., Huygen, K., Framaey, J.-P., and Carpentier, Y.A. 1994. Effects of selenium supplementation on immune parameters in gut failure patients on home parenteral nutrition. Nutrition 7, 215-221. 

Schrauzer, G.N. 1998b. Characterization of selenium yeasts for nutritional selenium supplementation. In Proc. Sixth Internatl. Symp. on the Uses of Selenium and Tellurium (Y. Palmieri, ed.), pp. 77-79, May 10-12. Scottsdale, AZ. 

Schrauzer, G.N. 2001. Nutritional selenium supplements product types, quality, and safety. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 20, 1-4. 

Schrauzer, G.N. and McGinness, J.E. 1979. Observations on human selenium supplementation. Trace Subst. Environ. Health XIII, 64-67. 

The incidence of the disease has fallen in recent years as a result of selenium supplementation and improved economic conditions in China generally (Burk, 1994). The evidence of viral mutogeny in the presence of selenium deficiency has important implications for many infections. Selenium deficiency may increase the likelihood of dying from HIV-related diseases (Baum et al., 1997) and may have exacerbated the incidence of AIDS in parts of Africa. 

Clark, L., Combs, G., Turnbull, B, Slate, E Chalker, D., Chow, J, Davis, L-, Gtover, R., Graham, G-, Gross, E., Krongrad, A., Lesher, J., Park, H-, Sanders, B., Smith, C., Taylor, J.R, (1996), Effects of selenium Supplementation for cancer prevention in patients with carcinoma of the skin. jAMA 276,1957-1963. 

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