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[Selenium and cardiovascular pathology]
1Unité de Toxicologie et de Chimie Bioanalytique, Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Université Libre de Bruxelle, Belgique.
Insights
Selenium deficiency impacts heart muscle integrity and cardiovascular disease risk. Ensuring adequate selenium intake is crucial for heart health and preventing related conditions.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cardiology
- Nutritional Science
Context:
- Selenium is an essential trace element vital for numerous physiological processes.
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a significant global health concern.
- Dietary selenium intake may be insufficient in many populations.
Purpose:
- To explore the role of selenium in cardiovascular health.
- To highlight the implications of selenium deficiency on cardiac function and integrity.
- To emphasize the need for further research into optimal selenium requirements.
Summary:
- Selenium plays a critical role in protecting endothelial cells from oxidative stress.
- It influences the biosynthesis of arachidonic acid derivatives, affecting platelet and leukocyte functions.
- Selenium also aids in cholesterol regulation, prevents heavy metal toxicity (cadmium, mercury), and modulates calcium transport.
- Clinical and epidemiological studies link selenium deficiency to increased CVD incidence and impaired cardiac function.
- Marginal selenium deficiency's impact on heart health warrants further investigation.
Impact:
- Understanding selenium's role can inform strategies for CVD prevention and management.
- Highlights the importance of adequate dietary selenium intake for maintaining cardiac muscle integrity.
- Suggests potential therapeutic or preventative roles for selenium supplementation in at-risk populations.
Abstract:
Selenium deficiency has established implications in cardiovascular diseases, particularly on cardiac muscle integrity. The essential trace element takes part not only in the direct protection of endothelial cells against the accumulation of aggressive oxygen species, but also in the biosynthesis of arachidonic acid derivatives involved in platelet and leucocyte functions, or in the regulation of cholesterol. Moreover, it prevents toxic effects of cadmium and mercury, and modulates the active transport of calcium. Some clinical investigations have underlined its importance in the cardiac function and the prevention of coronary atherosclerosis, and several recent prospective epidemiological studies have attributed to selenium deficiency a greater incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Further studies should be devoted to the influence of marginal deficiency in this trace element whose optimal requirement does not seem to be met by the usual dietary intake.