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Selenium

Specific Recommendations (for organic selenium):

• Se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com
• Selenium at Amazon.com

News & Research:

• Micronutrient Supplementation to Prevent, Improve HF? - Medscape, 2/29/22 - "A new review suggests that micronutrient supplementation — particularly a combination of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), zinc, copper, selenium, and iron — might be a potential strategy to improve myocardial function in patients with heart failure (HF) by improving mitochondrial function" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com, zinc supplements at Amazon.com, copper supplements at Amazon.com, Selenium at Amazon.com and iron supplements at Amazon.com.
• Higher selenium and manganese levels during pregnancy may protect babies from future high blood pressure - Science Daily, 6/23/21 - "Although a preponderance of earlier evidence linked lead, mercury, and cadmium to high blood pressure and heart diseases in adults, the researchers did not find a link between these toxic metals with childhood blood pressure in this study. They did, however, observe a link between the mothers' levels of selenium and lower blood pressure in their offspring during childhood. For every doubling of maternal selenium levels, children's systolic blood pressure was found on average to be 6.23 points lower. Manganese showed a similar albeit weaker relationship to blood pressure: A doubling of exposure was associated with 2.62 points lower systolic blood pressure on average" - See se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com and manganese at Amazon.com.
• Selenium supplementation protects against obesity and may extend lifespan - Science Daily, 3/30/21 - "One of the proven methods of increasing healthspan in many organisms, including non-human mammals, is to restrict dietary intake of an amino acid called methionine ... a research team from the Orentreich Foundation for the Advancement of Science (OFAS), Cold Spring, New York, US, aimed to develop an intervention that produces the same effects as methionine restriction, while also allowing an individual to eat a normal, unrestricted diet ... The team first studied whether selenium supplementation offered the same protection against obesity as methionine restriction. They fed young male and older female mice one of three high-fat diets: a control diet containing typical amounts of methionine, a methionine-restricted diet, and a diet containing typical amounts of methionine as well as a source of selenium. For both male and female mice of any age, the authors found that selenium supplementation completely protected against the dramatic weight gain and fat accumulation seen in mice fed the control diet, and to the same extent as restricting methionine ... heir results indicate that selenium supplementation produces most, if not all, of the hallmarks of methionine restriction, which suggests that this intervention may have a similar positive effect on healthspan ... yeast grown under selenium-supplemented conditions had a 62% longer chronological lifespan (from 13 days to 21 days) and a replicative lifespan extended by nine generations as compared with controls"
• Selenium status influence cancer risk - Science Daily, 8/31/16 - "the third of the population with lowest selenium status have a five- to ten-fold increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma -- also known as liver cancer"
• Metabolic response to selenium supplementation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2014 Dec 16 - "After 8 weeks of intervention, subjects who received selenium supplements had significantly decreased serum insulin levels (-29.83±47.29 vs. +9.07±77.12 pmol/L, P=0.013), homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (-1.15±1.81 vs. +0.42±3.09, P=0.011), homeostatic model assessment-Beta cell function (HOMA-B) (-19.06±30.95 vs. +4.55±47.99, P=0.017) and increased quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) (+0.03±0.04 vs. +0.0009±0.05, P=0.032) compared with placebo. In addition, supplementation with selenium resulted in a significant reduction in serum triglycerides (-0.14±0.55 vs. +0.11±0.30 mmol/L, P=0.025) and VLDL-C concentrations (-0.03±0.11 vs. +0.02±0.06 mmol/L, P=0.025) compared with placebo"
• Serum Selenium Is Low in Newly Diagnosed Graves' Disease - Medscape, 11/5/13 - "Patients with newly diagnosed GD and AIH had significantly lower s-Se compared with random controls. Our observation supports the postulated link between inadequate selenium supply and overt autoimmune thyroid disease, especially GD" - See se-methylselenocysteine at Amazon.com.
• Can Selenium Lower Risk of Advanced Prostate Cancer? - WebMD, 4/9/13 - "But that study looked at men with normal selenium levels when they entered the trial, and it did not focus on a specific type of prostate cancer. This latest study looked only at men who were deficient in selenium and tracked only cases of advanced prostate cancer, which is linked with a poor prognosis ... Among a group of almost 60,000 men aged 55 to 69 at the beginning of the study, the researchers found that men with the highest selenium levels, as measured in toenail clippings, had more than a 60 percent reduced risk for advanced prostate cancer"
• Does selenium prevent cancer? It may depend on which form people take - Science Daily, 3/16/11 - "Hugh Harris and colleagues note that although the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer clinical trial showed that selenium reduced the risk of cancer, a later study called the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial did not show a benefit. A major difference between the trials was the form of selenium that was used. To find out whether different types of selenium have different chemopreventive properties, the researchers studied how two forms -- SeMet and MeSeCys -- are processed in human lung cancer cells ... The researchers found that MeSeCys killed more lung cancer cells than SeMet did. Also, lung cancer cells treated with MeSeCys processed the selenium differently than than cells treated with SeMet"
  • Selenomethionine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - "Selenomethionine is an amino acid containing selenium. The L-enantiomer of selenomethionine, known as Se-met and Sem, is a common natural food source of selenium"
  • Selenium metabolism in rats with long-term ingestion of Se-methylselenocysteine using enriched stable isotopes - J Toxicol Sci. 2009 Apr;34(2):191-200 - "Se-methylselenocysteine (MeSeCys)"
  • Se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com
• Selenium deficiency may increase risk of chronic disease: Study - Nutra USA, 3/16/11 - "Since the current [US] RDA (55 micrograms per day, roughly corresponding to 100 micrograms per liter of plasma selenium) is based on the sensitivity of Gpx3 in plasma, Sepp1 is expected to be at suboptimal levels, even in some individuals meeting current selenium intake recommendations ... Based on these findings, it recently was suggested that recommended selenium intake levels should be raised from 55 to 75 micrograms per day ... cancer prevention remains one of the major benefits of selenium, and it is the only mineral that qualifies for a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved qualified health claim for general cancer reduction incidence"
• Selenium may reduce prostate cancer markers: Study - Nutra USA, 2/23/11 - "The new study tested whether a 6-week supplementation of 200 micrograms of selenium (in the form of glycinate) affected the activities of 2 blood selenium enzymes (erythrocyte and plasma GPx) and a marker of prostate cancer risk (plasma PSA) ... selenium supplementation, but not placebo, raised both plasma and erythrocyte GPx activities ... selenium glycinate, but again not placebo, lowered the cancer risk marker of serum PSA"
• Increasing selenium intake may decrease bladder cancer risk - Science Daily, 8/31/10 - "The lower the levels of selenium, the higher the risk of developing bladder cancer"
• Selenium protects men against diabetes, study suggests - Science Daily, 3/17/10 - "The role of selenium in diabetes has been controversial, with some studies suggesting that it raises diabetes risk and others finding that it is protective. Now, research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism, has shown that, for men, high plasma selenium concentrations are associated with a lower occurrence of dysglycemia ... for French elderly males, having plasma selenium concentrations in the top tertile of the population distribution (1.19-1.97 μmol/L) was significantly associated with a lower risk of developing dysglycemia over the following nine years ... The reason we observed a protective effect of selenium in men but not in women is not completely clear, but might be attributed to women being healthier at baseline, having better antioxidant status in general and possible differences in how men and women process selenium" - [Nutra USA]
• Antioxidant compound reduced incidence of colorectal metachronous adenomas - Science Daily, 12/7/09 - "The researchers randomized 411 participants to the placebo group or to receive an antioxidant compound -- specifically selenomethionnine 200 μg, zinc 30 mg, vitamin A 6,000 IU, vitamin C 180 mg and vitamin E 30 mg ... individuals who consumed antioxidants had a 40 percent reduction in the incidence of metachronous adenomas of the large bowel ... It is noteworthy that the benefit observed after the conclusion of the trial persisted through 13 years of follow up"
• Prostate Cancer: Vitamin E, Selenium No Help - WebMD, 10/28/08 - "That evidence included a 1998 Finnish study of whether vitamin E could prevent lung cancer in some 30,000 smokers. It didn't, but men taking vitamin E had 32% fewer prostate cancers ... I am afraid it will be the end of the story for large trials of vitamin E and selenium to prevent prostate cancer" - Note:  Most of the vitamin E studies I've read on prostate cancer indicated that only the gamma-tocopherol worked yet they spent $114 million on this study and used the cheapest synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate form.  How dumb was that?  I don't know what the story on the selenium was.  Some say it's because people in the U.S. aren't deficient in selenium.  See my comments in my 10/29/08 newsletter.
• Selenium Danger? - Dr. Weil, 9/11/08
• Diet And Medications May Assist Prevention Of Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 9/24/07 - "dutasteride, has reduced by 50 percent the number of cancerous biopsies among men with benign prostatic hypertrophy ... In one study of selenium, the incidence of prostate cancer was reduced by 49 percent over ten years ... Data already suggests novel uses of statins, commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering agents, and insulin modulating drugs, such as metformin or the glitazones" - See dutasteride at OffshoreRx1.com.
• Low selenium levels may be weakening muscles - Nutra USA, 8/27/07 - "people with the lowest plasma concentrations were 69, 94 and 94 per cent more likely to have poor hip, knee, and grip strength, compared to those with the highest selenium levels" - [Abstract]
• Selenium Supplements: Diabetes Risk - WebMD, 7/9/07 - "During the study, 58 participants in the selenium group reported being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, compared with 39 people taking the placebo"
• Selenium - Important Health Benefits from an Overlooked Trace Mineral - Life Extension Magazine, 11/06 - "As scientists continue to discover the many ways in which oxidative stress is related to inflammation and its destructive consequences—from atherosclerosis to prostate, lung, colon, and other cancers—the disease-preventive powers of selenium are likely to receive even greater scrutiny"
• Selenium-protein Deficiency Raises Prostate Cancer Risk - Science Daily, 5/23/06 - "Selenium, an essential dietary mineral that can act as an antioxidant when incorporated into proteins, has been shown in many studies to reduce the incidence of cancers -- notably lung, colorectal and prostate"
• Low Selenium Levels Might Raise Odds of Knee Osteoarthritis - Doctor's Guide, 11/21/05 - "low toenail selenium levels correlated positively to increased risk of radiographic knee osteoarthritis"
• Low selenium linked to higher risk of osteoarthritis - Nutra USA, 11/14/05 - "Those with the highest selenium levels faced a 40 per cent lower risk of knee osteoarthritis than those in the lowest-selenium group"
• Selenomethionine has superior bioavailability, suggests study - Nutra USA, 4/19/05 - "selenomethionine is twice as bioavailabile as selenium in the form of selenite"
• Selenium May Lower Colon Cancer Risk - WebMD, 11/16/04 - "participants with the highest blood levels of selenium were 34% less likely to develop a new adenoma compared with those with the lowest selenium blood levels"
• Selenium Supplements May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk in Some - WebMD, 6/16/03 - "a certain version of the gene was associated with a higher breast cancer risk. That same gene was also less responsive to selenium stimulation ... that means people with this genetic variation may benefit from selenium supplements but they require a higher dose to achieve selenium's protective effect against cancer"
• Selenium May Lower Risk Of Esophageal Cancer In People With Barrett's Esophagus - Intelihealth, 5/21/03 - "Higher serum selenium levels appear to be associated with a reduced risk of progression toward esophageal cancer among people with Barrett's esophagus"
• Selenium Reduces Risk of Some Cancers: FDA Approves Claim - New Hope Natural Media, 4/17/03 - "Companies that manufacture selenium supplements will now be permitted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to claim that selenium supplements may reduce the risk of some cancers, according to a statement by the FDA. Although the FDA does not permit manufacturers to list specific types of cancer in the health claim, studies suggest selenium supplementation may reduce the risk of colon, prostate, lung, liver and esophageal cancers"
• Selenium May Fight Prostate Damage - WebMD, 2/4/03 - "About 80% of the prostate cells in dogs fed a normal diet had extensive DNA damage compared with only about 57% in the selenium-treated dogs ... dogs fed the enriched diet also had a twofold increase in the number of prostate cells that had undergone a process that removes damaged cells, called apoptosis, which is associated with a lower risk of cancer"
• Few Vitamins Effectively Prevent or Reverse Skin Damage - Medscape, 3/02 - "Recent animal studies have found that when selenium is taken orally or through the skin in the form of L-selenomethionine, it provided protection against both everyday and excessive UV damage"
• Intake Of Apples And Selenuim Affects Incidence Of Asthma - Intelihealth, 12/13/01 - "Eating at least two or more apples per week and a higher intake of the essential metal selenium can protect against asthma in adults, according to British researchers ... They reported on a population-based, case-control study to determine whether asthma is less common and less severe in adults who consume more dietary antioxidants"
• Selenium May Help Prevent Prostate Cancer - Doctor's Guide, 11/30/01 - "Men with low blood levels of selenium -- a trace element supplied in certain foods and supplements -- are four to five times more likely to contract prostate cancer ... the researchers concluded that the results support the hypothesis that supplemental selenium may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Because selenium in blood decreases with patient age, supplementation may be beneficial to older men"
• Selenium-Based Antihypertensive May Lead To New Family Of Therapeutic Agents - Doctor's Guide, 11/11/97 - "The biochemistry and pharmacology of selenium are subjects of intense current interest because of evidence that a deficiency of the trace nutrient may play a role in diseases as diverse as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and AIDS. Selenium is an antioxidant involved in many important enzyme processes"

Abstracts:

• On the Potential Role of the Antioxidant Couple Vitamin E/Selenium Taken by the Oral Route in Skin and Hair Health - Antioxidants (Basel) 2022 Nov 17 - "The relationship between oxidative stress and skin aging/disorders is well established. Many topical and oral antioxidants (vitamins C and E, carotenoids, polyphenols) have been proposed to protect the skin against the deleterious effect induced by increased reactive oxygen species production, particularly in the context of sun exposure. In this review, we focused on the combination of vitamin E and selenium taken in supplements since both molecules act in synergy either by non-enzymatic and enzymatic pathways to eliminate skin lipids peroxides, which are strongly implicated in skin and hair disorders." - See vitamin E at Amazon.com and se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com.
• Inverse Association between Serum Selenium Level and Severity of Liver Fibrosis: A Cross-Sectional Study - Nutrients 2022 Sep 2 - "Selenium has been well recognized for its important role in human health. Prior studies showed that low serum selenium was associated with various diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, infertility, and cognitive decline. Recent studies demonstrated an association between selenium deficiency and liver cirrhosis ... There was a significant linear decrease in liver stiffness measurement (LSM) values in male groups with increased serum selenium levels. The beta coefficient (β) = -1.045 in male groups. A significantly negative association was also observed in the group of age ≥ 60. In addition, those in the highest quartile of serum selenium had lower LSM values (β = -0.416). This is the first study using LSM to demonstrate the correlation between selenium deficiency and severity of liver cirrhosis. Our findings suggest that a high plasma selenium concentration is negatively correlated with the severity of liver cirrhosis and there are gender and age differences" - See se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com.
• Inverse association between baseline plasma selenium concentrations and risk of renal function decline in hypertensive adults - J Nutr 2022 Sep 9 - "The kidney has the highest level of selenium (Se) in the body, but the role of plasma Se in chronic kidney disease is uncertain ... The median follow-up duration from baseline to outcome was 4.4 years. After multivariate adjustment, there was an inverse association between plasma Se and rapid decline in renal function (per 10-unit increment; OR, 0.85; 95%CI: 0.73, 0.99). When baseline plasma Se was assessed as tertiles, compared to the lowest tertile (<74.5 μg/L), a lower trend of the primary outcome was found in the second tertile (74.5 to <89.4 μg/L; OR, 0.60; 95%CI: 0.34, 1.07) and the highest tertile (89.4 to <150 μg/L; OR, 0.42; 95%CI: 0.22, 0.80) (P for trend = 0.006). Furthermore, the Se-renal association was more pronounced among participants with folic acid treatment or with a higher baseline folate concentration (both P for interaction"
• Relationship between Serum Levels of Selenium and Thyroid Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Nutr Cancer 2022 Aug 22 - "Thyroid cancer is one of the most malignant tumors and a serious threat to human health. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that is critical for thyroid function ... From the 10 selected studies, pooled analysis indicated that thyroid cancer patients had lower serum levels of Se than healthy controls [standardized mean difference = -1.25, 95% confidence interval = (-2.07, -0.44), P = 0.003]. Our meta-analysis supports a significant relationship between serum levels of Se and thyroid cancer"
• The relationship between dietary selenium intake and telomere length among diabetes - Br J Nutr 2022 Jun 10 - "After controlling for the confounders, 1 μg increase in dietary selenium intake in female patients with diabetes, and telomere length increased by 1.84 base pairs (β = 1.84 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.15, 3.53]). There was a line relationship between dietary selenium intake and telomere length in female patients with diabetes, and telomere length increased with increasing dietary selenium intake within the range of 0-250 μg" - See se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com.
• Prevalence of micronutrient deficiency and its impact on the outcome of childhood cancer: A prospective cohort study - Clin Nutr 2022 May 18 - "Selenium deficiency was independently predictive of adverse outcomes in childhood cancer, particularly in haematological malignancies. Zinc deficiency adversely affected solid tumours" - See se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com and zinc supplements at Amazon.com.
• Plasma selenium and the risk of first stroke in adults with hypertension: a secondary analysis of the China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial - Am J Clin Nutr 2021 Sep 21 - "Previous studies indicated that selenium (Se) may play an important role in cardio-cerebrovascular disease. However, the relationship between circulating selenium and risk of first stroke remains inconclusive ... In summary, there was a significant inverse association between plasma Se and risk of first stroke in Chinese adults with hypertension, especially among those with higher baseline folate concentrations and those with higher time-averaged SBP over the treatment period"
• Se-Methylselenocysteine Alleviates Liver Injury in Diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Rat Model by Reducing Liver Enzymes, Inhibiting Angiogenesis, and Suppressing Nitric Oxide (NO)/Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) Signaling Pathway - Med Sci Monit 2021 Aug 4 - "Hepatocellular carcinoma is the third leading cause of cancer-associated mortality. This study aimed to investigate the effects of se-methylselenocysteine (MSC) on oncogenesis of diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma ... MSC administration alleviated liver injury in a DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinoma rat model through reducing liver enzymes, inhibiting angiogenesis, and suppressing the NO/NOS signaling pathway"
• Relationship between the Circulating Selenium Level and Stroke: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies - J Am Coll Nutr 2021 Mar 30 - "Although our results suggest that the circulating selenium level is inversely associated with stroke, current evidence is still insufficient to conclude their definite association. More well-designed prospective cohort studies with detailed selenium biomarker specification are needed to elaborate the concerned issues further"
• Selenium and Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation Improves Renal Function in Elderly Deficient in Selenium: Observational Results and Results from a Subgroup Analysis of a Prospective Randomised Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial - Nutrients 2020 Dec 9 - "A low selenium intake is found in European countries, and is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. There is an association between selenium level and the severity of kidney disease. An association between inflammation and selenium intake is also reported. The coenzyme Q10 level is decreased in kidney disease ... The association between selenium status and creatinine was studied in 589 elderly persons. In 215 of these (mean age 71 years) a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled prospective trial with selenium yeast (200 µg/day) and coenzyme Q10 (200 mg/day) (n = 117) or placebo (n = 98) was conducted ... Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) algorithm ... An association between low selenium status and impaired renal function was observed. Intervention causes a significantly lower serum creatinine, and cystatin-C concentration in the active treatment group compared with those on placebo (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.001 resp.). The evaluation with CKD-EPI based on both creatinine and cystatin-C showed a corresponding significant difference (p < 0.0001). All validations showed corresponding significant differences. In individuals with a deficiency of selenium and coenzyme Q10, low selenium status is related to impaired renal function, and thus supplementation with selenium and coenzyme Q10 results in significantly improved renal function as seen from creatinine and cystatin-C and through the CKD-EPI algorithm. The explanation could be related to positive effects on inflammation and oxidative stress as a result of the supplementation" - See ubiquinol products at Amazon.com and iHerb and Se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com and iHerb.
• Association of dietary selenium intake with telomere length in middle-aged and older adults - j.clnu.2020.01.014 - "After adjusting potential confounders, every 20 μg increase in dietary selenium intake was associated with 0.42% (95% CI: 0.02%, 0.82%) longer telomere length in all participants. In the subgroup analyses, dietary selenium intake was related to longer telomere length in females (Percentage change: 0.87%; 95% CI: 0.26%, 1.49%) and non-obese participants (Percentage change: 0.53%; 95% CI: 0.04%, 1.02%), but not in males (Percentage change: 0.04%; 95% CI: −0.49%, 0.57%) and obese participants (Percentage change: 0.21%; 95% CI: −0.47%, 0.91%). The restricted cubic spline analysis showed a linear association between dietary selenium intake and telomere length" - [Nutra USA] - See se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com.Lower circulating zinc and selenium levels are associated with an increased risk of asthma: evidence from a meta-analysis - Public Health Nutr. 2019 Nov 5:1-8 - "A total of twenty-six studies for Zn and forty studies for Se were included in the meta-analysis. The overall analyses identified that asthma patients had lower Zn (SMD = -0.40; 95 % CI -0.77, -0.03; I2 = 94.1 %) and Se (SMD = -0.32; 95 % CI -0.48, -0.17; I2 = 90.9 %) levels in serum or plasma compared with healthy controls. After removing the studies that contributed to the heterogeneity, the pooled SMD were -0.26 (95 % CI -0.40, -0.13; I2 = 37.42 %) for Zn and -0.06 (95 % CI -0.13, 0.02; I2 = 43.54 %) for Se ... Lower circulating Zn and Se levels might be associated with an increased risk of asthma"
• Association of Zinc, Iron, Copper, and Selenium Intakes with Low Cognitive Performance in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) - J Alzheimers Dis. 2019 Oct 29 - "A total of 2,332 adults aged 60 years or older were included. The association between zinc, iron, copper, and selenium intake and low cognitive performance was significant in different test. Compared with the lowest quartile of total copper intake, the weighted multivariate adjusted ORs (95% CI) of the highest quartile were 0.34 (0.16-0.75) for low cognitive performance in DSST. L-shaped associations between total copper or selenium and low cognitive performance in DSST and animal fluency were found ... Dietary and total zinc, copper, and selenium intakes might be inversely associated with the prevalence of low cognitive performance" - See Jarrow Zinc Balance at Amazon.com.
• Se-Methylselenocysteine Ameliorates Neuropathology and Cognitive Deficits by Attenuating Oxidative Stress and Metal Dyshomeostasis in Alzheimer Model Mice - Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018 Apr 24:e1800107 - "Se-methylselenocysteine (SMC) is a major selenocompound in selenium (Se) enriched plants such as garlic and broccoli florets. Se is vital for proper brain function, and Se-deficient is considered to be related with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease (AD) ... These results reveal that SMC is powerful in ameliorating AD-related neuropathology and cognitive deficits via modulating oxidative stress, metal homeostasis and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation"
• Supplemental Selenium May Decrease Ovarian Cancer Risk in African-American Women - J Nutr. 2017 Feb 15 - "Women with the highest intakes of supplemental selenium (>20 μg/d) had an ~30% lower risk of ovarian cancer than those with no supplemental intake (OR: 0.67"
• Selenium status and risk of prostate cancer in a Danish population - Br J Nutr. 2016 Mar 14:1-9 - "levels of plasma Se and selenoprotein P were not associated with the risk of total and advanced prostate cancer, but higher levels of these two biomarkers were associated with a lower risk of high-grade disease" - [Nutra USA]
• The association between dietary selenium intake and diabetes: a cross-sectional study among middle-aged and older adults - Nutr J. 2015 Feb 18;14(1):18 - "The multivariate adjusted OR was 1.52 (95% CI: 1.01 to 2.28, P = 0.04) for the highest quartile of dietary selenium intake in comparison with the lowest quartile. There was a significant positive association between dietary selenium intake and diabetes"
• Selenium Supplementation and Prostate Cancer Mortality - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2014 Dec 12 - "Crude rates per 1000 person-years for prostate cancer death were 5.6 among selenium nonusers and 10.5 among men who consumed 140 or more μg/day. Crude rates per 1000 person-years were 28.2 vs 23.5 for all-cause mortality and 28.4 vs 29.3 for biochemical recurrence, for nonuse vs highest-dose categories, respectively. In multivariable analyses, men who consumed 1 to 24 μg/day, 25 to 139 μg/day, and 140 or more μg/day of supplemental selenium had a 1.18"
• The Protective Effects Of Selenium-enriched Probiotics On Carbon Tetrachloride-induced Liver Fibrosis In Rats - J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Dec 16 - "Se-enriched probiotics (SP) ... SP significantly decreased serum alanine aminotransferase (48.2%), aspartate aminotransferase (26.8%), hepatic hydroxyproline (29.3%) and malondialdehyde (30.1%) levels" - See se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com and probiotic products at Amazon.com.
• Optimal Serum Selenium Concentrations Are Associated with Lower Depressive Symptoms and Negative Mood among Young Adults - J Nutr. 2014 Nov 5 - "A total of 978 young adults (aged 17-25 y) completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale and reported their negative and positive mood daily for 13 d using an Internet diary. Serum selenium concentration was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ... The mean ± SD serum selenium concentration was 82 ± 18 μg/L and ranged from 49 to 450 μg/L. Participants with the lowest serum selenium concentration (62 ± 4 μg/L; decile 1) and, to a lesser extent, those with the highest serum selenium concentration (110 ± 38 μg/L; decile 10) had significantly greater adjusted depressive symptoms than did participants with midrange serum selenium concentrations (82 ± 1 to 85 ± 1 μg/L; deciles 6 and 7). Depressive symptomatology was lowest at a selenium concentration of ∼85 μg/L. Patterns for negative mood were similar but more U-shaped. Positive mood showed an inverse U-shaped association with selenium, but this pattern was less consistent than depressive symptoms or negative mood"
• Do Environmental Factors Modify the Genetic Risk of Prostate Cancer? - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014 Oct 23 - "This study suggests that selenium supplements may reduce genetic risk of advanced PCa, while aspirin, ibuprofen, and vegetables may reduce genetic risk of nonadvanced PCa" - See se-methyl l-selenocysteine at Amazon.com.
• Advanced Prostate Cancer Risk in Relation to Toenail Selenium Levels - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2013 Jul 22 - "Selenium may prevent advanced prostate cancer (PCa), but most studies on this topic were conducted in populations with moderate to high selenium status. We investigated the association of toenail selenium, reflecting long-term selenium exposure, and advanced PCa risk in a population from the Netherlands where low selenium status is widespread ... All cohort members completed a baseline questionnaire, and approximately 79% of participants provided toenail clippings, which were used for toenail selenium measurements using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Incident advanced PCa case subjects from the entire cohort were identified during 17.3 years of follow-up ... Toenail selenium was associated with a reduced risk of advanced PCa; adjusted hazard ratio for the highest vs lowest quintile was 0.37 (95% CI = 0.27 to 0.51; P trend < .001). For stage IV PCa, men in the highest vs lowest quintile of toenail selenium had an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.30 (95% CI = 0.21 to 0.45; P trend < .001)"
• Supplementation with selenium-enriched yeast attenuates brain metastatic growth - Nutr Cancer. 2013;65(4):563-70 - "Mice were fed experimental diets enriched (1 mg/kg) with sodium selenite (Se-S), seleno-1-methionine (Se-Meth), a yeast-derived organic form of selenium (Se-Yeast), or a control diet (Se < 0.05 mg/kg) for 20 wk ... Mice bearing brain metastatic tumors and fed Se-Yeast- or Se-S-enriched diets displayed a higher survival rate compared with other experimental and control groups. Importantly, Se-Yeast supplementation decreased the growth of brain metastatic tumors as determined by the measurement of the intensity of the bioluminescent signal emitted by K1735-Luc cells upon reaction with luciferin. Different chemical forms of Se have distinct effects on the development of brain metastases. Organic Se in the form of Se-Yeast may be a valuable agent in suppression of brain metastatic disease"
• Dietary selenium supplementation modifies breast tumor growth and metastasis - Int J Cancer. 2013 Apr 23 - "Three diets supplemented with sodium selenite, methylseleninic acid (MSA) or selenomethionine (SeMet), as well as a Se-deficient and a Se-adequate diet were fed to mice before mammary gland inoculation of 4T1.2 cells ... Our data suggest that organic Se supplementation may reduce/delay breast cancer metastasis while selenite may exacerbate it"
• Selenium is inversely associated with interleukin-6 in the elderly - J Nutr Health Aging. 2013;17(3):280-4 - "A total of 336 subjects aged 65 years and older (range of age: 65 - 101 years) were recruited from eight long-term care facilities in 2002-2003 ... Selenium deficiency was defined as serum selenium concentration < 80 μg/L ... The prevalence of selenium deficiency was 35.6% in men and 43.2% in women, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders using multiple logistic regression analysis, interleukin-6 quartiles were significantly associated with selenium deficiency. Compared to the interleukin-6 quartile I, the adjusted odds ratios of having selenium deficiency for interleukin-6 quartile II, III, IV were 1.00(0.50~2.01), 1.24 (0.62~2.50), and 2.35(1.15~4.83), respectively"
• Selenium and colorectal adenomas risk: a meta-analysis - Nutr Cancer. 2012 Nov;64(8):1153-9 - "Selenium, as an important component of some antioxidants, has been suggested to have protective effects against colorectal adenomas. This meta-analysis examined the association between selenium level in blood and risk of colorectal adenomas. Data from 7 studies (3 cross-sectional studies, 3 case-control studies, 1 nested case-control study) published before December 2011 was included in this meta-analysis ... There was a significant inverse correlation between selenium level and colorectal adenomas risk according to fixed-effects model. The overall OR of highest selenium level to lowest for colorectal adenomas is 0.67 (95% CI: 0.55-0.81)"
• The protective effect of calcium on bone mass in postmenopausal women with high selenium intake - J Nutr Health Aging. 2012;16(9):743-8 - "Elevated selenium intake negatively affects bone mass measurements in postmenopausal women over the age of 51 but only if calcium intake is also less than 800 mg / day. When calcium intake is greater than 800 mg/day, selenium did not appear to affect bone mass"
• Effects of Selenium Supplements on Cancer Prevention: Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials - Nutr Cancer. 2011 Oct 17 - "We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library in July 2009. Of the 461 articles searched, 8 articles on 9 RCTs, which included 152,538 total participants, 32,110 in antioxidant supplement groups, and 120,428 in placebo groups, were included. In a random-effects meta-analysis of all 9 RCTs, selenium supplementation alone was found to have an overall preventive effect on cancer incidence [relative risk (RR) = 0.76; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.58-0.99]. Among subgroup meta-analyses, the preventive effect of selenium supplementation alone on cancer was apparently observed in populations with a low baseline serum selenium level (<125.6 ng/mL) (RR = 0.64; 95% CI = 0.53 to 0.78; I(2) = 45.5%; n = 7) and in high-risk populations for cancer (RR = 0.68; 95% CI = 0.58 to 0.80; I(2) = 41.5%; n = 8). The meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials indicates that there is possible evidence to support the use of selenium supplements alone for cancer prevention in the low baseline serum selenium level population and in the high-risk population for cancer"
• Vitamin E and the risk of prostate cancer: the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) - JAMA. 2011 Oct 12;306(14):1549-56 - "Oral selenium (200 μg/d from L-selenomethionine) with matched vitamin E placebo, vitamin E (400 IU/d of all rac-α-tocopheryl acetate) with matched selenium placebo, both agents, or both matched placebos for a planned follow-up of a minimum of 7 and maximum of 12 years ... This report includes 54,464 additional person-years of follow-up and 521 additional cases of prostate cancer since the primary report. Compared with the placebo (referent group) in which 529 men developed prostate cancer, 620 men in the vitamin E group developed prostate cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 1.17; 99% CI, 1.004-1.36, P = .008); as did 575 in the selenium group (HR, 1.09; 99% CI, 0.93-1.27; P = .18), and 555 in the selenium plus vitamin E group (HR, 1.05; 99% CI, 0.89-1.22, P = .46). Compared with placebo, the absolute increase in risk of prostate cancer per 1000 person-years was 1.6 for vitamin E, 0.8 for selenium, and 0.4 for the combination" - Note:  The study used rac-α-tocopheryl acetate.  See my vitamin E page for several articles regarding taking only one of the  eight forms of vitamin E.  See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.
• Mouse Prostate Proteomes Are Differentially Altered by Supranutritional Intake of Four Selenium Compounds - Nutr Cancer. 2011 May 24:1 - "We have shown that, in contrast to selenomethionine (SeMet) or selenite, methylseleninic acid (MSeA) and Se-methylselenocysteine (MSeC) exert prostate cancer (PCa) inhibitory effect in preclinical models"
• Adaptive dysfunction of selenoproteins from the perspective of the triage theory: why modest selenium deficiency may increase risk of diseases of aging - FASEB J. 2011 Mar 14 - "The triage theory proposes that modest deficiency of any vitamin or mineral (V/M) could increase age-related diseases. V/M-dependent proteins required for short-term survival and/or reproduction (i.e., "essential") are predicted to be protected on V/M deficiency over other "nonessential" V/M-dependent proteins needed only for long-term health. The result is accumulation of insidious damage, increasing disease risk. We successfully tested the theory against published evidence on vitamin K. Here, we review about half of the 25 known mammalian selenoproteins; all of those with mouse knockout or human mutant phenotypes that could be used as criteria for a classification of essential or nonessential. Five selenoproteins (Gpx4, Txnrd1, Txnrd2, Dio3, and Sepp1) were classified as essential and 7 (Gpx1, Gpx 2, Gpx 3, Dio1, Dio2, Msrb1, and SelN) nonessential. On modest selenium (Se) deficiency, nonessential selenoprotein activities and concentrations are preferentially lost, with one exception (Dio1 in the thyroid, which we predict is conditionally essential). Mechanisms include the requirement of a special form of tRNA sensitive to Se deficiency for translation of nonessential selenoprotein mRNAs except Dio1. The same set of age-related diseases and conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and immune dysfunction, are prospectively associated with modest Se deficiency and also with genetic dysfunction of nonessential selenoproteins, suggesting that Se deficiency could be a causal factor, a possibility strengthened by mechanistic evidence. Modest Se deficiency is common in many parts of the world; optimal intake could prevent future disease"
• Selenium and the Thyroid: A Close-Knit Connection - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Sep 1 - "Maintenance of "selenostasis" via optimal intake not only aids preservation of general health but also contributes substantially to the prevention of thyroid disease"
• Selenium and Bladder Cancer Risk: a Meta-analysis - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Aug 31 - "Overall, the risk of bladder cancer was inversely associated with elevated levels of selenium according to a random-effects model (mOR = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.42-0.87). The mORs were 0.95 (95% CI, 0.69-1.27) and 0.55 (95% CI, 0.32-0.95) among men and women, respectively"
• Relationship between selenium and breast cancer: a case-control study in the Klang Valley - Singapore Med J. 2009 Mar;50(3):265-9 - "Breast cancer risk decreased with the increasing quartiles of selenium intake, with odds ratios (95 percent confidence interval) of 2.95 (1.22-7.12), 2.17 (1.13-4.19) and 1.71 (0.84-3.52), respectively. However, the association diminished after adjustment for confounding factors ... it is essential for Malaysian women to achieve a good selenium status by consuming good food sources of selenium as a chemopreventive agent"
• Serum Antioxidants and Skin Cancer Risk: An 8-Year Community-Based Follow-up Study - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Mar 31 - "basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin ... Although there were no associations between baseline serum carotenoids or alpha-tocopherol concentrations and incidence of BCC or SCC, baseline serum selenium concentrations showed strong inverse associations with both BCC and SCC tumor incidence. Compared with participants with lowest selenium concentrations at baseline (0.4-1.0 micromol/L), those with the highest serum selenium concentrations (1.3-2.8 micromol/L) had a decreased incidence of BCC tumors (multivariate relative risk, 0.43; 95% confidence interval, 0.21-0.86; Ptrend = 0.02) and SCC tumors (multivariate relative risk, 0.36; 95% confidence interval, 0.15-0.82; Ptrend = 0.02)"
• Differential Effects of Selenium on Benign and Malignant Prostate Epithelial Cells: Stimulation of LNCaP Cell Growth by Noncytotoxic, Low Selenite Concentrations - Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(2):251-64 - "Thus, noncytotoxic selenite concentrations did not induce growth inhibition or apoptosis selectively in prostate cancer cells. Growth stimulation of LNCaP cells by low concentrations suggests the possibility of adverse effects of selenium supplementation on hormone sensitive prostate cancer, whereas inhibition of PC-3 cell proliferation at noncytotoxic concentrations suggests potential benefit of selenium in advanced prostate cancer"
• Selenium, folate, and colon cancer - Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(2):165-78 - "High levels of serum selenium and reported folate jointly were associated with a substantially reduced risk of colon cancer"
• Serum selenium and serum lipids in US adults - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Aug;88(2):416-23 - "Elevated serum selenium was associated with elevated serum concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triacylglycerols, apo B, and apo A-I among US adults, a selenium-replete population"
• Both inorganic and organic selenium supplements can decrease brain monoamine oxidase B enzyme activity in adult rats - Br J Nutr. 2008 Feb 28;:1-6 - "tocopherol group (T group, positive control), selenite group (SE group, representing the inorganic Se group) and seleno-yeast group (SY group, representing the organic Se group) ... MAO-B activity showed a significant decrease in the T, SE and SY groups in rat brains but no significant change could be noted in the rat livers. In conclusion, the present study indicates that inorganic or organic Se supplementation can decrease the brain MAO-B enzyme activity in adult rats and can be accomplished by the effect of the Se antioxidation capability"
• Serum Selenium Levels and All-Cause, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality Among US Adults - Arch Intern Med. 2008 Feb 25;168(4):404-10 - "we found a nonlinear association between serum selenium levels and all-cause and cancer mortality. Increasing serum selenium levels were associated with decreased mortality up to 130 ng/mL. Our study, however, raises the concern that higher serum selenium levels may be associated with increased mortality"
• Association of low plasma selenium concentrations with poor muscle strength in older community-dwelling adults: the InCHIANTI Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Aug;86(2):347-52 - "participants in the lowest versus the highest quartile of plasma selenium were at higher risk of poor hip strength [odds ratio (OR): 1.69; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.83; P = 0.04, P for linear trend = 0.04], knee strength (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.18, 3.19; P = 0.009, P for linear trend = 0.01), and grip strength (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.19, 3.16; P = 0.008, P for linear trend = 0.08)"
• Effects of Long-Term Selenium Supplementation on the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Trial - Ann Intern Med. 2007 Jul 9 - "During an average follow-up of 7.7 years (SD, 2.7), type 2 diabetes developed in 58 selenium recipients and 39 placebo recipients (incidence, 12.6 cases per 1000 person-years vs. 8.4 cases per 1000 person-years, respectively; hazard ratio, 1.55"
• Serum selenium and risk of prostate cancer--a nested case-control study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jan;85(1):209-17 - "higher serum selenium was associated with lower risks in men reporting a high (more than the median: 28.0 IU/d) vitamin E intake"
• Selenium is inversely associated with bladder cancer risk: A report from the Belgian case-control study on bladder cancer - Int J Urol. 2006 Sep;13(9):1180-4 - "This case-control study suggests an inverse association between serum selenium concentration and bladder cancer risk"
• Selenium supplementation and colorectal adenomas: An analysis of the nutritional prevention of cancer trial - Int J Cancer. 2005 Oct 10 - "In addition to being associated with a reduced risk of incident CRC [colorectal cancers], selenium supplementation was associated with a significantly reduced risk of prevalent adenomas, but only among subjects with either a low baseline selenium level or among current smokers"
• Effectiveness of selenium supplements in a low-selenium area of China - Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Apr;81(4):829-34 - "Selenium as selenomethionine had nearly twice the bioavailability of selenium as selenite"
• Selenium as an element in the treatment of ovarian cancer in women receiving chemotherapy - Gynecol Oncol. 2004 May;93(2):320-327 - "we conclude that there are beneficial effects caused by ingesting selenium, as a supportive element in chemotherapy"
• Selenium in the Immune System - J. Nutr. 133:1457S-1459S, May 2003 - "Selenium as an essential component of selenocysteine-containing protein is involved in most aspects of cell biochemistry and function. As such, there is much potential for selenium to influence the immune system"
• Decreased incidence of prostate cancer with selenium supplementation: results of a double-blind cancer prevention trial - Br J Urol. 1998 May;81(5):730-4
• Effects of selenium supplementation for cancer prevention in patients with carcinoma of the skin. A randomized controlled trial. Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Study Group - JAMA. 1996 Dec 25;276(24):1957-63
• Plasma selenium concentration predicts the prevalence of colorectal adenomatous polyps - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1993 Jan-Feb;2(1):41-6