March 2017 - Seleniumfacts.com

A study of serum selenium levels and supplementation with a patented organic selenium yeast preparation shows an association between serum selenium concentrations and the rate of deaths from heart disease in healthy elderly study participants.

There have been two noteworthy discoveries from a recent randomized controlled trial conducted by Dr. Urban Alehagen of Linköping University (Sweden) and his colleagues.

Firstly, people with low concentrations of selenium in their blood were found to be at significantly higher risk of death from heart disease.

Secondly, a combination of a patented high selenium yeast supplement and a proven Coenzyme Q10 supplement taken daily for four years provided significant protection against heart disease in people with low serum selenium status.

The KiSel-10 study of cardiovascular mortality
The study enrolled 668 healthy elderly individuals aged 70-80 years. The study was well-designed and well-executed. One group of 219 randomly selected individuals received 200 micrograms of selenized yeast tablets and 200 milligrams of Coenzyme Q10 capsules daily for four years. A second randomly assigned group of 222 individuals received matching placebos. The remaining group of 227 individuals received no treatment at all. read more

**Daily nutritional supplementation with a combination of organic high-selenium yeast and Coenzyme Q10 for four years slowed the decline of heart function that is frequently associated with ageing.**

The heart muscle tissue is frequently the first tissue in humans to suffer damage caused by selenium deficiency. When the cell membranes in the heart muscle tissue are damaged by the action of harmful free radicals (this is called oxidative damage), many of the healthy heart muscle cells are replaced by fibrous tissue. The resulting condition is called cardiomyopathy.

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle in which the heart is enlarged, thick, and rigid [Mayo Clinic]. As the cardiomyopathy worsens, the weakened heart muscle is less and less able to pump adequate quantities of blood to carry oxygen and nutrients to the cells and tissues throughout the body. Eventually, symptoms such as shortness of breath, early fatigue, and swelling in the legs and feet and abdomen appear, the symptoms of chronic heart failure.
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Milestones in early selenium research

1817 Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius discovers selenium

1957 Biochemist Klaus Schwarz shows that selenium in microscopic amounts has a vital importance for mammalian health

1969 Professor J.T. Rotruck discovers that selenium has a biochemical role as a component of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase

1969 Professors R.J. Shamberger and D.V. Frost report a possible protective effect of selenium against cancer in humans

1973 Professor J.T. Rotruck identifies the enzyme glutathione peroxidase as a selenium-dependent protein

1977 Professor G.N. Schrauzer publishes cancer mortality correlation studies showing an inverse correlation between dietary intakes of selenium and cancer mortality in 27 countries

1988 Professor G.Q Yang summarizes the lessons learned about the selenium-related endemic diseases Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease and about the importance of adequate daily selenium intakes

1989 Professor G.G. Duthie publishes evidence for a role of selenium in the prevention of cardiovascular disease

1993 Researcher W.J. Blot publishes the results of the Nutrition Intervention Trials in Linxian, China, showing that supplementation with a combination of selenium and other antioxidants reduces the risk of cancer

1994 Professor G.N. Schrauzer publishes evidence that selenium is important in the maintenance and therapy of HIV-infected patients

1996 Professor Larry Clark publishes the results of a randomized controlled trial – the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer study -- that shows selenium's cancer-protective effects on colon cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer

1997 Professor G.F. Combs summarizes the evidence for the protective effects of selenium against cancer

1999 Professor J.E. Oldfield publishes his Selenium World Atlas, mapping areas of selenium deficiency around the world

2000 Researcher O.A. Levander publishes evidence showing an anti-viral effect of selenium

2002 Researcher R. Gärtner shows that supplementation with selenium reduces inflammation in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis

2002 Researcher Margaret Rayman presents the arguments for increasing selenium intakes to realize selenium’s antioxidant and anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects as well as selenium’s enhancement of immune function and reproductive success.

Month: March 2017

Selenium and heart disease

Selenium and heart muscle tissue