Professor Jørgen Clausen, long-time professor in the Institute for Life Sciences and Chemistry, Roskilde University Center, in Roskilde, Denmark, was one of the early researchers to do clinical studies of the effects of supplementation with selenium. As such, it seems instructive to go back and look at the research done by Dr. Clausen and his colleagues at the end of the 20th century.
Professor Clausen’s selenium studies
Basically, Professor Clausen’s research can be described in five different categories:
- Effect of selenium supplementation on the health of the elderly nursing home residents
- Effect of selenium supplementation on the health of cigarette smokers
- Effect of selenium supplementation on the health of patients with chronic neurologic disorders
- Effect of selenium supplementation on the toxic effects of lead poisoning
- Effect of selenium supplementation on the activity levels of the selenium-dependent antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase
In addition, Professor Clausen was an early leader in the investigation of the absorption and health effects of various forms of inorganic and organic selenium supplements.
Selenium supplementation and smokers and oxidative stress
To understand Dr. Clausen’s interest in the effect of selenium supplementation on smokers, we must first understand the concept of oxidative stress and the related concept of oxidative damage. Oxidative stress occurs when, in the process of metabolism of oxygen, the body produces, as a by-product, various reactive oxygen species (for example: peroxide, superoxide, hydroxyl, and singlet oxygen radicals) to excess.
