Lymphocyte response is enhanced by supplementation of elderly subjects with selenium-enriched yeast
1991
Peretz, A. | Neve, J. | Desmedt, J. | Duchateau, J. | Dramaix, M. | Famaey, J.P.
The effect of selenium supplementation on plasma selenium concentrations and lymphocyte-proliferation responses to mitogens was investigated in 22 elderly institutionalized subjects. Subjects were assigned to a 6-mo trial with either 100 microgram Se/d (as selenium-enriched yeast) or a placebo. Plasma selenium concentrations of the selenium-supplemented group increased from 0.84 +/- 0.26 to 1.55 +/- 0.33 micromol/L (mean +/- SD) after 2 mo and the values plateaued thereafter. The mean response of lymphocytes to mitogens in elderly subjects tended to be lower than responses in healthy adults, although responses remained within the 5-95% confidence-interval limit for healthy adults. During selenium supplementation the proliferative response to pokeweed mitogen increased significantly (+79% of baseline concentrations after 4 mo, P < 0.01) and reached the upper limit of the usual range for adults after 6 mo (+ 138%, P < 0.001). In accordance with previous studies in animals and in vitro, this investigation demonstrates for the first time immunostimulatory properties of selenium-enriched yeast in elderly humans.
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