Cryptosporidium Prevented by Seleniumin Mice: Experimentally infected mice. Inhibitory effect of selenium on Cryptosporidium parvum infection in vitro and in vivo. Huang K, Yang S. Biol Trace Elem Res 2002 Winter;90(1-3):261-72

HIV Shedding Increased 200% in Low Selenium: Kenya study of 319 HIV+ women. Selenium deficiency is associated with shedding of HIV-1--infected cells in the female genital tract. Baeten JM, Mostad SB, Hughes MP, Overbaugh J, Bankson DD, Mandaliya K, Ndinya-Achola JO, Bwayo JJ, Kreiss JK. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2001 Apr 1;26(4):360-4

HIV Hospitalizations Decreased 35% by Selenium: Hospitalizations declined from 157 before the trial to 103 during the 2-year study of selenium in a DB PC trial of 186 HIV+ patients with half given 200microg/d (RR = 0.38; p =.002) and the percent of hospitalizations due to infection/100 patients also decreased for those receiving selenium (p =.01). As a result, the cost for hospitalization decreased 58% in the selenium group, compared to a 30% decrease in the placebo group (p =.001). Impact of a selenium chemoprevention clinical trial on hospital admissions of HIV-infected participants. Burbano X, Miguez-Burbano MJ, McCollister K, Zhang G, Rodriguez A, Ruiz P, Lecusay R, Shor-Posner G. HIV Clin Trials 2002 Nov-Dec;3(6):483-91

H Selenium May Help HIV Patients: Of 949 HIV-1-infected Tanzanian women who were pregnant, over the 5.7-year follow-up, 306 died. Lower plasma selenium levels were significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality (P= 0.01). Selenium status is associated with accelerated HIV disease progression among HIV-1-infected pregnant women in Tanzania. Kupka R, Msamanga GI, et al. Harvard. J Nutr. 2004 Oct;134(10):2556-60.

HIV: Infants Born to HIV Mothers Low in Selenium More Likely to Die: In a prospective cohort study of the selenium status and child mortality and morbidity among 610 children born to HIV-infected mothers in Tanzania, 117 (19%) died during follow-up. In a multivariate model, child plasma selenium levels were inversely associated with risk of all-cause mortality (P=0.05). Selenium levels in relation to morbidity and mortality among children born to HIV-infected mothers. Kupka R, et al. Harvard. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 13 July 2005. 

Coxsackie, Flu Viruses More Virulent with Low Selenium: in a Se-deficient host the benign coxsackie virus becomes virulent, causing heart damage, the influenza virus causes more serious lung pathology and HIV infection progresses more rapidly to AIDS. Proc Nutr Soc 2002 May;61(2):203-15 The argument for increasing selenium intake. Rayman MP, Rayman MP.

Poliovirus Cleared Better with Selenium Supplement: 22 UK adults with average selenium levels (<1.2 micro mol/L, 60% of those screened) received 50 or 100 micro g Se (as sodium selenite) or placebo daily for 15 weeks in a double-blind study. All subjects received an oral live attenuated poliomyelitis vaccine after 6 weeks. Selenium supplementation increased plasma selenium, the body exchangeable selenium pool, and lymphocyte phospholipid and cytosolic glutathione peroxidase activities. Selenium supplements augmented the cellular immune response through an increased production of interferon gamma and other cytokines, an earlier peak T cell proliferation, and an increase in T helper cells. Selenium-supplemented subjects also showed more rapid clearance of the poliovirus, and the poliovirus reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction products recovered from the feces of the supplemented subjects contained a lower number of mutations. The conclusion was that these adults had a functional selenium deficit with suboptimal immune status and a deficit in viral handling. They also suggest that the additional 100 micro g Se/d may be insufficient to support optimal function. An increase in selenium intake improves immune function and poliovirus handling in adults with marginal selenium status. Broome CS, McArdle F, Kyle JA, Andrews F, Lowe NM, Hart CA, Arthur JR, Jackson MJ. University of Liverpool. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jul;80(1):154-162. 

Mycoplasma Infections in Kids Reduced by Selenium: Wei Sheng Yan Jiu 1998 Sep 30;27(5):344-7. DB Chinese study of kids in hospital with mycoplasma pneumonia found kids given selenium instead of placebo along with other meds recovered faster. Effect of selenium on children suffered from Mycoplasma pneumonia. Hu S, Liu X, Yin SA, Xu Q. Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Beijing 100050, China.

Infections Reduced in Elderly by Selenium With Zn, Not Vitamin E: A DB study found that selenium and zinc decreased infections in nursing home elderly although vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene didn’t help. Johnson, Nutr Rev 11/97;55:400

Elderly URI, not UTI in Elderly Helped by Selenium; Vitamins A, C, E No Help: DB PC 725 >65yo Parisians 2 yr. Effect small p=.06. Impact of trace elements and vitamin supplementation on immunity and infections in institutionalized elderly patients: a randomized controlled trial. MIN. VIT. AOX. geriatric network. Girodon F, Galan P, Monget AL, Boutron-Ruault MC, Brunet-Lecomte P, Preziosi P, Arnaud J, Manuguerra JC, Herchberg S. Arch Intern Med 1999 Apr 12;159(7):748-54

Pneumonia Reduced in Burn Victims: Copper and Zinc decrease pneumonia in burn patients (Berger, Swiss, Am J Clin Nutr 8/98)

Selenium Supplement Improves Immune Function: 22 adults with low plasma selenium (<1.2 micromol/L, 60% of UK adults screened) received 50 or 100 microg Se or placebo daily for 15 wk in a double-blind study. All received an oral live attenuated poliomyelitis vaccine after 6 wk and enriched stable (74)Se intravenously 3 wk later. Selenium supplementation increased lymphocyte phospholipid and cytosolic glutathione peroxidase activities and augmented the cellular immune response through an increased production of interferon gamma and other cytokines, an earlier peak T cell proliferation, and an increase in T helper cells. Humoral immune responses were unaffected. Selenium-supplemented subjects also showed more rapid clearance of the poliovirus, and the poliovirus reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction products recovered from the feces of the supplemented subjects contained a lower number of mutations. The additional 100 microg Se/d may be insufficient to support optimal function. An increase in selenium intake improves immune function and poliovirus handling in adults with marginal selenium status. Broome CS, McArdle F, Kyle JA, Andrews F, Lowe NM, Hart CA, Arthur JR, Jackson MJ. University of Liverpool. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jul;80(1):154-62

Thomas E. Radecki, M.D., J.D.

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