Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2006;10(6):180.
doi: 10.1186/cc5109.

Seleno-enzymes and seleno-compounds: the two faces of selenium

Xavier Forceville  1
Affiliations
Comment

Seleno-enzymes and seleno-compounds: the two faces of selenium

Xavier Forceville. Crit Care. 2006.

Abstract

Selenium protects cells and inhibits many inflammatory cell mechanisms through antioxidant seleno-enzymes. Immunity improvement is illustrated by the study of Berger and colleagues, with reduction of nosocomial pneumonia in burnt patients under multi-trace-element supplementation. As seleno-compounds (especially sodium selenite) are pro-oxidant, however, administration above 800 microg/day may be dangerous in septic shock. Paradoxically, direct reversible pro-oxidative effects of seleno-compounds may also be beneficial for reduction of inflammation (genomic action, apoptosis), and may even be bactericidal or virucidal. These facts need to be further examined, as well as the possible dramatic drop of plasma selenoprotein P in septic shock and its role in endothelium protection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment on

References

    1. Berger MM, Eggimann P, Heyland DK, Chiolero RL, Revelly J-P, Day A, Raffoul W, Shenkin A. Reduction of nosocomial pneumonia after major burns by trace element supplementation: aggregation of two randomised trials. Crit Care. 2006;10:R153. doi: 10.1186/cc5084. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Heyland DK, Dhaliwal R, Suchner U, Berger MM. Antioxidant nutrients: a systematic review of trace elements and vitamins in the critically ill patient. Intensive Care Med. 2005;31:327–337. doi: 10.1007/s00134-004-2522-z. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Avenell A, Noble DW, Barr J, Engelhardt T. Selenium supplementation for critically ill adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;4:CD003703. - PubMed
    1. Berger MM. Can oxidative damage be treated nutritionally? Clin Nutr. 2005;24:172–183. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2004.10.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Angstwurm MW, Gaertner R. Practicalities of selenium supplementation in critically ill patients. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006;9:233–238. - PubMed

MeSH terms