Failure of selenium-ace to improve osteoarthritis

Selenium-ACE, a formulation containing the trace element selenium with three vitamins, is widely promoted for the treatment of arthritis. A controlled double-blind trial of Selenium-ACE in osteoarthritis failed to demonstrate any significant efficacy for the compound over placebo at 3 or 6 months though there was a non-significant trend to improvement in some clinical parameters in both groups. Side-effects were more frequently seen in the placebo group.