Postmortem serum selenium concentrations and their possible etiological role in Sudden Infant Death (SID)
✍ Scribed by R. Lemke; A. Schäfer; W. Makropoulos
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1993
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 316 KB
- Volume
- 60
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0379-0738
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✦ Synopsis
The importance of selenium (Se) deficiency in the pathogenesis of human diseases such as Keshan Disease has been extensively studied. It is possible that low Se-levels could cause immunosuppression and be an etiological factor in Sudden Infant Death (SID). We investigated 50 serum samples (40 SID and 10 non-SID victims) by atomic absorption spectrometry. The results show that there is no evidence of a serum selenium deficiency in SID-victims in the region of Aachen. A relationship between selenium concentration and the infant immune system still remains speculative and 21 samples even showed increased serum levels. It could be necessary to define a 'local' normal range by examining a greater number of healthy infants.