Glutathione peroxidase activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in normal subjects: effects of long-term selenium supplementation

✍ Scribed by Ulrik Tarp; Jens C. Hansen; Kim Overvad; Eivind B. Thorling; Britta D. Tarp; Hans Graudal

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 399 KB
• Volume: 30
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.1780301012

✦ Synopsis

The effects of dietary supplementation with selenium were studied in 6 patients with severe, active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in 6 healthy control subjects, Initial concentrations of Se in red blood cells and in serum, and the activity of the Se-dependent enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in red blood cells, serum, and granulocytes were significantly lower in RA patients compared with controls. During Se supplementation, however, the differences in Se levels and in GSH-Px activity between the 2 groups disappeared, except that, in RA patients, GSH-Px activity in granulocytes increased but remained significantly lower than in controls.

Selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) is one of the enzymes that protects membrane lipids and other cellular and extracellular components from oxidative damage. In vitro and in vivo studies have found increasing evidence that free oxygen radicals may have pathogenetic importance in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Elevated levels of peroxida-From the