Selenium has been associated with an anti-cancer effect via the modulation of Akt. In order to investigate whether selenium modulates Akt by hitherto unidentified molecular mechanisms, we examined the effect of selenium on the stability and activity of Akt. Selenium induced destabilization of Akt which is coupled to its own enzyme activation. Mutation of T308 and S473 of Akt to alanine as well ...

This paper describes the findings of selenium measurement in three types of soil (semigley, pseudogley and hypogley) and in wheat grain cultivated in these types of soil in the vicinity of Koprivnica using hydrid atomic absorption spectrometry. The results showed relatively low selenium levels in all three types of soil (145-333 micrograms Se/kg dry weight) as well as the wheat grain (22-62 mic...

The recently completed Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) was one of the largest human cancer prevention trials ever undertaken. Its purpose was to assess the role of selenium and vitamin E in prostate cancer prevention, but SELECT found no decline in prostate cancer. Comparison of this study to other clinical trials involving selenium and to the results of animal studies s...

Sakr and colleagues report seemingly disappointing data on the effects of selenium in severe sepsis [1]. Mortality rates remained unaffected despite intensive selenium supplementation. The authors conclude that extra selenium above a basal supply of 100 μg/day provides no additional health benefit. However, there are good reasons for selenium supplementation in sepsis; the selenium status decli...

The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) was conducted to assess the efficacy of selenium and vitamin E alone, and in combination, on the incidence of prostate cancer. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial design clinical trial found that neither selenium nor vitamin E reduced the incidence of prostate cancer after seven years and that vitamin E w...

Having found that the electrophilic model compound sulfobromophthalein markedly altered the fate of exogenous selenium in the body by reacting in vivo with nucleophilic selenium metabolites, the effects of metal-containing drugs with expected selenium reactivity were tested on biliary, urinary, and pulmonary excretion. Tissue distribution of selenium in selenite-injected rats was also examined....

Selenium is an essential micronutrient that functions as an antioxidant. Yet, at higher concentrations, selenium is pro-oxidant and toxic. In extreme cases, exposures to excess selenium can lead to death or selenosis, a syndrome characterized by teeth, hair and nail loss, and nervous system alterations. Recent interest in selenium as an anti- tumorigenic agent has reemphasized the need to under...

OBJECTIVE Selenium is present in the active site of proteins important for thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of selenium supplementation in different doses on thyroid function, under conditions of suboptimal dietary selenium intake. DESIGN The Danish PREvention of Cancer by Intervention with SElenium pilot study (DK-PRECISE) is ...

Belews Lake, North Carolina, was contaminated by selenium in wastewater released from a coal-fired electric generating facility during 1974-1985. Selenium bioaccumulated in aquatic food chains and caused severe reproductive failure and teratogenic deformities in fish. Beginning in 1986, the electric utility company changed its ash disposal practices and selenium-laden wastewater no longer enter...

background: identifying new ways to decrease adiposity will be very valuable for health. the aim of this study was to find out whether l-arginine (arg) and selenium alone or together can increase the effect of hypocaloric diet enriched in legumes (hdel) on anthropometric measures in healthy obese women. methods: this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was undertaken in 84 health...