Skeletal muscle disorders associated with selenium deficiency in humans

Abstract

Skeletal muscle disorders manifested by muscle pain, fatigue, proximal weakness, and serum creatine kinase (CK) elevation have been reported in patients with selenium deficiency. The object of this report was to review the conditions in which selenium deficiency is associated with human skeletal muscle disorders and to evaluate the importance of mitochondrial alterations in these disorders. A systematic literature review using the Medline database and Cochrane Library provided 38 relevant articles. The main conditions associated with selenium deficiency fell into three categories: (1) insufficient selenium intake in low soil-selenium areas; (2) parenteral or enteral nutrition, or malabsorption; and (3) chronic conditions associated with oxidative stress, such as chronic alcohol abuse and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. In low soil-selenium areas, reversibility of muscle symptoms was similar after selenium supplementation and placebo administration, suggesting a role for other factors in the development of disease. In parenteral or enteral nutrition, or malabsorption, muscle symptoms improved after selenium supplementation in 18 of 19 patients (median delay: 4 weeks). The reason that only a minority of selenium-deficient patients present with skeletal muscle disorders is unclear and is possibly related to cofactors, such as viral infections and drugs. Prospective studies of selenium-deficient myopathies would be useful in critically ill patients, alcohol abusers, and HIV-infected patients.

Low serum selenium concentrations are associated with poor grip strength among older women living in the community

“…A potential biological mechanism by which selenium could contribute to muscle weakness is through maintenance of an optimal concentration of glutathione peroxidase, a key antioxidant selenoenzyme, and/or selenoprotein W. The serum selenium concentrations among women in the present study were lower than that described among older men and women in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, [14] but were not as low as serum selenium concentrations that are associated with overt selenium deficiency. More overt human selenium deficiency is associated with a skeletal myopathy and cardiomyopathy [4,15]. In ruminant animals, selenium deficiency causes white muscle disease, a condition characterized by muscle weakness and degeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscle [18].…”

Selenoprotein W gene expression in the gastrointestinal tract of chicken is affected by dietary selenium

“…Previous data suggest that Se plays important roles in chemoprevention (Combs et al 2001;Li et al 2010), neurobiology (Schweizer et al 2004), aging (Martin-Romero et al anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity) (Rayman 2000;Hoffmann and Berry 2008), muscle metabolism (Chariot and Bignani 2003), reproduction (Kaur and Bansal 2005), redox reactions (Rayman 2000), and in many other aspects of health (Brown and Arthur 2001;Mahmoud and Edens 2005). The activity of Se within animal systems is mainly elicited via selenoproteins (Stadtman 2000), a group of proteins that contain the amino acid selenocysteine (Sec) as an integral part of their polypeptide chain.…”

Association of low plasma selenium concentrations with poor muscle strength in older community-dwelling adults: the InCHIANTI Study

“…A myopathy similar to white muscle disease has been described in human selenium deficiency (11). Although severe selenium deficiency is associated with skeletal muscle problems, including fatigue and proximal muscle weakness (12), it is not known whether a more marginal selenium status, such as that found in community-dwelling adults, is associated with muscle weakness. We hypothesized that low plasma selenium concentrations are associated with poor muscle strength in older adults.…”