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| |  ENDO: Selenium Supplementation May Benefit Patients With Thyroiditis By Emma Patten-Hitt Special to DG News
DENVER, CO -- June 22, 2001 -- Selenium supplementation may prevent progression of autoimmune thyroid disease, especially during the onset of the disease, according to researchers. Dr. Barbara Gasnier with the Medizinische Klinik University, Munich, Germany, reported the findings today at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society (ENDO) in Denver, Colorado. According to the researchers, selenium deficiency may contribute to the development and maintenance of autoimmune thyroiditis because of its effect on the function of selenium-dependent enzymes, which can modulate the immune system. Dr. Gasnier and her colleagues performed a blinded, placebo-controlled, prospective study in 72 women with autoimmune thyroiditis, average age 42, with thyroid peroxidase antibodies and/or thyroglobulin antibody levels greater than 350 U/mL. Patients were randomized into two groups matched in aged and antibody levels. A total of 36 patients received 200 mg of sodium selenite per day for three months, and 36 patients received placebo. All patients were substituted with L-thyroxine to maintain thyrotrophin (TSH) levels within the normal range. The researchers then measured the change in the autoantibody concentration as a marker for the activity of the disease. After three months, nine patients in the selenium treated group had completely normalized antibody titers in contrast to only two patients in the placebo group. In addition, the mean thyroid peroxidase antibody concentrations decreased significantly to 51 percent in the selenium group compared to 90 percent in the placebo group. The thyroglobulin antibodies concentrations, a marker of humoral immunity, were unchanged in both groups, however. The effect was more pronounced in patients with high thyroid peroxidase antibody concentrations. An analysis of eight patients with concentrations greater than 1200 U/mL indicated a 40 percent reduction in the selenium treated patients compared to a 10 percent increase in the placebo group. "Selenium substitution with 200 mg of sodium selenite may improve the inflammatory activity in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis," the researchers noted, but "whether this effect is specific for autoimmune thyroiditis or may also be effective in other organ-specific autoimmune diseases has to be investigated." "With selenium supplementation, we may be increasing peroxidase activity, thereby lowering free radicals, which contribute to inflammation," Dr. Gasnier explained. "Selenium supplementation may be necessary only in certain countries where selenium levels in the soil are low," Dr. Gasnier told Doctor’s Guide. "In Europe, China and Central Africa, there is a lack of selenium in the soil, so supplementation may be more important in these areas compared to others," she said.
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