Selenium supplementation is useful in treating autoimmune thyroiditis.
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, also known as auto immune thyroiditis, is a
chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland caused by autoimmune factors.
This disorder is believed to be the most common cause of primary
hypothyroidism in North America. If you are hypothyroid, the chances are
that this is why. It is eight times more prevalent in women then in men
and its incidence increases with age. A family history of thyroid disorders
is fairly common.
Symptoms, signs, and diagnosis:
Patients complain of painless enlargement of the thyroid gland or fullness
in the throat. Examination reveals a nontender goiter, smooth or nodular
, firm and more rubbery than the normal thyroid. Other forms of autoimmune
disease are common, including pernicious anemia, rheumatoid arthritis,
systemic lupus erythematosus, and Sjogren's syndrome. Early in the disease
laboratory values for T-4, and TSH remain normal. Titers for thyroid
peroxidase antibodies and occasionally anti-thyoglobulin antibodies are
elevated. Later in the disease, the patient develops hypothyroidism with
decreased T-4 and increased TSH levels.[1]
Recent research suggests that the mineral selenium plays an important role
in both preventing and treating thyroid disease. When blood samples from
patients' suffering from various forms of thyroid disease were analyzed for
selenium levels, all were found to be lower than in normal healthy
people.[2] There are areas of the world where the soil is low in selenium.
As a result locally grown food is low in selenium and selenium
deficiencies are common. People living in these areas are more likely to
develop Hashimoto's disease than in other parts of the world. Two possible
explanations have been put forward. One is that the glutathione peroxidase
enzyme which depends on selenium to work, is less effective. The other is
that several selenium dependent enzymes play roles in modifying the
function of the immune system. Whatever theory is true, it appears that
even mild selenium deficiency may contribute to the development of
autoimmune thyroid disease.
The results of a placebo controlled double blinded study looking at this
were published just a few months ago in April, 2002. Thirty-six patients
with Hashimoto's Disease received 200 mcg of selenium a day, while 34
received only a placebo. After three months, the thyroid peroxidase
antibody levels of the patients taking the selenium had dropped 44.4% while
the placebo takers had dropped only 12%. In a subgroup of subjects who had
the highest antibody levels at the start of the experiment, the results
were more dramatic. An analysis of patients with antibody levels greater
than 1200 IU/ml revealed a mean 40% reduction in the selenium-treated
patients compared with a 10% increase in the placebo group. Nine of the
selenium treated patients had their antibody levels return to normal.[3]
People with autoimmune thyroid disease frequently have other autoimmune
diseases. If selenium reduces antibody levels which attack the thyroid,
perhaps it will do the same for other autoimmune processes.
References:
1. The Merck Manual Seventeenth Edition page 97-98.
2. Kucharzewski M, Braziewicz J, Majewska U, Gozdz S. Concentration of
selenium in the whole blood and the thyroid tissue of patients with various
thyroid diseases. Biol Trace Elem Res 2002 Jul;88(1):25-30
3. Gartner R, Gasnier BC, Dietrich JW, Krebs B, Angstwurm MW. Selenium
supplementation in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis decreases thyroid
peroxidase antibodies concentrations. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2002
Apr;87(4):1687-91 |
