Is Selenium Supplementation Beneficial in Acute Ischemic Stroke?

Selenium (Se) plays a significant role in brain physiology. The existing human data demonstrate that stroke is associated with significantly reduced Se levels and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. This study proposed to investigate the effect of intravenous Se (Selenase) administration in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) on neurological outcomes, antioxidant enzyme activity, and inflammatory marker levels.

AIS patients (n=50) were recruited from a neurology unit of a university-affiliated hospital. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either Selenase or placebo (saline) for 5 days. The modified ranking scale, the national institute of health stroke scale, and the mini-mental state examination, as primary outcomes, and the serum GPx concentration, total antioxidant activity, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels, as secondary outcomes, were measured at the baseline and on day 30.

Eventually, 44 patients with AIS completed the intervention study. A notable increase in GPx and total antioxidant activity levels was detected in the treatment group compared with the placebo group (110.63±52.48 m/mL, 1.34±0.30 mmol/L, P<0.05), whereas the serum tumor necrosis factor-α level in the Selenase group was significantly lower than that of the placebo group (58.58±61.33 pg/mL, P<0.05). In addition, Selenase improved the modified ranking scale and national institute of health stroke scale scores significantly (P<0.05 and <0.04, respectively), but no statistical difference was observed between the 2 groups in the mini-mental state examination score.

Selenase, plausibly due to its antioxidant function, results in positive outcomes in terms of neurological deficits, antioxidant enzyme activity, and inflammatory marker levels.