Selenium and FIV
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Selenium is a trace element in human and feline diet. It has antioxidant properties and is particularly important for its role in the redox cycle by which glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase degrade the free radicals that create reactive oxidative stress (ROS). ROS is directly related to HIV replication [Webb]. ROS is also directly related to HIV activation. In a recent study, "HIV-related immune activation was associated with lower plasma selenium concentrations" [Stephensen]. Various
studies have found that selenium levels track disease progression and that replacing selenium can be expected to have health benefits [Ogunro].
What makes another recent study [Hurwitz] stand out is that the subjects had normal selenium
levels to begin with. The results showed that selenium had a positive impact as an HIV therapy.
(HIV, of course, is not FIV.) “For the study, Barry Hurwitz, a professor of psychology and
medicine at the University of Miami, and colleagues randomly assigned 262 HIV-positive adults
with normal selenium levels to take either a placebo pill or a 200 microgram capsule of high-selenium yeast for nine months, Reuters Health reports (Gale, Reuters Health, 1/22). Only 174 of
the participants completed the nine-month follow-up period (Hurwitz et al., Archives of Internal
Medicine, 1/22). According to the Times, about two-thirds of the participants were taking
antiretroviral drugs and about one-third of the participants were not. The study, which was
funded by NIH, found that for the 50 participants who regularly took the selenium pills, HIV
viral loads decreased an average of 10,000 viral particles per milliliter of blood, or by 12%, after
nine months. The researchers also found an average CD4 increase of 30 cells per microliter of
blood among the participants who regularly took selenium. According to Hurwitz, selenium had
a positive effect among participants on antiretrovirals regardless of which drugs the participants
were taking. Among the 83 participants in the placebo group, viral loads increased by 10,000 to
20,000 viral particles per milliliter of blood and CD4 cells decreased by about 30 cells per
microliter in the same time period, the study found. Forty-one participants were classified as
"nonresponders" because they did not adhere to their selenium schedule or because of
gastrointestinal problems that prevented them from absorbing the mineral, the Times reports.
This group had the same results as the placebo group, the study found” [Dietary].
The study concludes thus:
“In contrast, selenium-treated subjects whose serum selenium increase was greater than 26.1 microg/L evidenced excellent treatment adherence (86.2% +/- 13.0%), no change in HIV-1 viral load (Delta = -0.04 +/- 0.7 log(10) units), and an increase in CD4 count (Delta = +27.9 +/- 150.2
cells/microL). CONCLUSIONS: Daily selenium supplementation can suppress the progression
of HIV-1 viral burden and provide indirect improvement of CD4 count. The results support the
use of selenium as a simple, inexpensive, and safe adjunct therapy in HIV spectrum disease”
[Hurwitz]. The discrepancy in conclusions about viral load data is not entirely clear, but the
results are still worth paying attention to.
An even more recent in vitro study found “a reduction in viral replication by at least 10-fold” [Kalantari]. This study found that selenium incorporated into proteins in the form of
selenocysteine (an amino acid) is depleted by HIV infection and that supplying it externally
disrupts the structure of the viral transactivator, which then reduces the viral ability to replicate.
This avenue of impact is independent of ROS reduction. Unlike FIV, HIV has its own discrete
gene for producing transactivating protein, but FIV does produce a transactivating protein, so it is
possible that the same therapeutic mechanism can be taken advantage of.
It is important to note that selenium is toxic in excess amounts. The toxic threshold has been set around 400 mcg in humans. The published information is that the maximum safe intake for a 10
lb cat is 60-120 mcg. The daily estimated food intake is 10-25 mcg.
Unfortunately, selenium has been a darling of a "fringe" element of writers on HIV, who, at the extreme, take the position that HIV is an inconsequential virus and that it is only the absence of selenium in the modern diet (depleted soils in Africa, chemical fertilizers in the developed world,
etc.) that causes AIDS. One must, therefore, approach claims regarding selenium as an
antiretroviral therapy with a certain amount of caution
The preferred form of selenium is organic rather than inorganic. The University of Miami study [Hurwitz] used a yeast cultured in the presence of selenium, a form which is common and generally available.
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References:
Dietary Supplement Selenium Reduces HIV Viral Load, Increases CD4+ T Cell Count, Study
Says. The Body. The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource. January 23, 2007.
http://www.thebody.com/kaiser/2007/jan23_07/selenium.html?m184h.
Hurwitz BE, Klaus JR, Llabre MM, Gonzalez A, Lawrence PJ, Maher KJ, Greeson JM, Baum
MK, Shor-Posner G, Skyler JS, Suppression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 viral load
with selenium supplementation: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2007 Jan
22;167(2):148-54. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17242315
Kalantari P, Narayan V, Natarajan SK, Muralidhar K, Gandhi UH, Vunta H, Henderson AJ, Prabhu KS. Thioredoxin Reductase-1 Negatively Regulates HIV-1 Transactivating Protein Tat-dependent Transcription in Human Macrophages. J Biol Chem. 2008 Nov
28;283(48):33183-90. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2586244/?tool=pubmed
Ogunro PS, Ogungbamigbe TO, Elemie PO, Egbewale BE, Adewole TA. Plasma selenium
concentration and glutathione peroxidase activity in HIV-1/AIDS infected patients: a correlation
with the disease progression. Niger Postgrad Med J. 2006 Mar;13(1):1-5.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16633369
Stephensen CB, Marquis GS, Douglas SD, Kruzich LA, Wilson CM. Glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, and selenium status in HIV-positive and HIV-negative adolescents and young adults.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jan;85(1):173-81. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/85/1/173
Webb C, Lehman T, McCord K, Avery P, and Dow S. Oxidative stress during acute FIV infection in cats. Veterinary Immunology 2007.11.004. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18079001
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