2 studies back selenium for AIDS patients
Following successful in vitro studies, a multicenter group led by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reporting that selenium may reinforce endogenous antioxidative systems in AIDS patients. Kathleen Crouse, MD, part of an FDA panel that ran the study, calls selenium an "essential trace element for optimal function of the immune system." The study found selenium supplementation partially suppressed the induction of HIV-1 replication in chronically infected T lymphocytic and monocytic cell lines, while increasing the activity of cellular antioxidant selenoproteins, glutathione peroxidase, and thioredoxin reductase.
A related study at the University of Miami School of Medicine found a selenium deficiency in HIV-positive patients whose mortality rate was 19.9% higher than those with adequate selenium levels. Researchers tracked 125 patients over three years and proposed a follow-up study to determine if selenium treatment can improve survival rates or slow progression of the disease. t
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