January 2020 - Seleniumfacts.com

The evidence from a randomized controlled trial shows that 2.9 years of supplementation with 200 micrograms per day had no effect on insulin sensitivity and no effect on pancreatic beta-cell function compared with placebo [Jacobs 2019]. The evidence from randomized controlled trials does not support a role for selenium in the risk of developing type-2 diabetes [Kohler 2018].

The findings from a 2018 meta-analysis show no consistent evidence that selenium supplementation plays a role in the development of type 2 diabetes among adults.

Researchers at the University of Arizona in Tucson, home of the Arizona Cancer Center, identified a statistically significant direct relationship between selenium and Type-2 diabetes in observational studies but no statistically significant relationship in randomized controlled trials [Kohler 2018].

Note: Randomized controlled trials are the gold standard for scientific evidence in the bio-medical field. The randomization of the study participants should produce comparable groups and should eliminate accidental bias. In observational studies, the researchers do not randomly assign the study participants to groups and do not decide which treatments each group receives or does not receive. read more

Heart failure patients with low serum selenium levels are much more likely to be re-hospitalized and/or to die than are heart failure patients with serum selenium levels above 100 micrograms per liter.

A multi-national cohort study has shown that selenium deficiency in heart failure patients is associated with impaired exercise tolerance and with a 50% higher mortality rate [Bomer].

In-vitro studies of cultured human heart muscle cells from the heart failure patients show that low selenium levels in the heart muscle cells are associated with impaired mitochondrial function [Bomer].

Recent information shows that up to 50% of heart failure patients suffer from some form of micronutrient insufficiency, e.g. selenium, zinc, iron, or iodine [Bomer].

Selenium: An Essential Micronutrient

Selenium intakes and status vary considerably from geographical region to region according to the content of selenium in the soil and in the food.

Sufficient intakes of selenium are necessary for important biological functions: read more

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: January 2020

Selenium Supplementation and Glucose Metabolism

Selenium Status and Heart Failure

Selenium: An Essential Micronutrient