Abstract
The selenium content of serum, whole blood and hair was measured by neutron activation analysis in dietetically treated patients with phenylketonuria (PKU) and maple-syrup-urine disease (MSUD). Follow-up studies showed a decrease of the serum selenium content and the glutathione peroxidase activity of erythrocytes—a selenoenzyme—from normal values at the beginning of the diet to 20% (selenium) and 50% (gluthione peroxidase) of normal within 10–12 weeks of dietary treatment. In 36 patients the serum selenium content was lower at 6.7–28×10-9 g/ml, independent of the age of the patients (0.5 to 10 years). The selenium content of whole blood was reduced: median=98×10-9 g/g dry weight; range 75 to 165×10-9 g/g dry weight (healthy children: median=381×10-9 g/g dry weight; range 245 to 588×10-9 g/g dry weight). The selenium content of hair was markedly lower in the patients (median=62×10-9 g/g; range 13–140×10-9 g/g) than in healthy children (median=429; range 213 to 720×10-9 g/g). The mean glutathione peroxidase activity of erythrocytes was reduced to 4.6±0.64 U37/g Hb, in comparison to normal values (mean=8.8±0.88 U37/gHb).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allaway, W. H., Cary, E. F., Ehlig, C. F.: The cycling of low levels of selenium in soils, plants and animals. In: Selenium in Biomedicine. Eds.: Muth, O. H., Oldfield, J. E., Weswig, P. H., pp. 273–296. Westport, Conn.: The Avi Publ. Co., Inc. 1967
Awasthi, V. C., Beutler, E., Srivastava, S. K.: Purification and properties of human erythrocyte gluthathione paroxidase. J. Biol. Chem. 250, 5144–5149 (1975)
Burk, R. F., Pearson, W. N., Wood, R. P., Viteri, F.: Blood selenium levels and in vitro red blood cell uptake of 75-Se in Kwashiorkor. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 20, 723–733 (1967)
Diplock, A. T., Green, J., Bunyan, J., McHale, D., Muthy, J. R.: Vitamin E and stress. 3. The metabolism of D-a-tocopherol in the rat under dietary stress with silver. Brit. J. Nutr. 21, 115–125 (1967)
Diplock, A. T.: Possible stabilizing effect of vitamin E on microsomal membrane-bound, selenide-containing proteins and drug-metabolizing enzyme systems. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 27, 996–1004 (1974)
Evelyn, K. A., Malloy, H. T.: Microdetermination of oxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin and sulfhemoglobin in a single sample of blood. J. Biol. Chem. 126, 655–662 (1938)
Flohé, L., Günzler, W. A., Schock, H. H.: Glutathione peroxidase: A Selenoenzyme. FEBS Letters 32, 132–134 (1973)
Ganther, H. E., Baumann, C. A.: Selenium metabolism. I. Effects of diet, arsenic and cadmium. J. Nutr. 77, 210–216 (1962)
Griffith, N. M., Thomson, Ch. D.: Selenium in whole blood of New Zealand residents. New Z. J. Med. 80, 199–202 (1974)
Günzler, W. A., Kremers, H., Flohé, L.: An improved coupled test procedure for glutathione peroxidase in blood. Z. Klin. Chem. Klin. Biochem. 12, 444–448 (1974)
Hafeman, D. G., Sunde, R. A., Hoekstra, W. G.: Effect of dietary selenium on erythrocyte and liver glutathione peroxidase in the rat. J. Nutr. 104, 580–587 (1974)
Hartley, W. J., Grant, A. B.: A review of selenium responsive diseases at New Zealand livestock. Fed. Proc. 679-688 (1961)
Jervis, R. E.: Applications of activation analysis in forensic science. Amsterdam: JAEA Symp., 1967
Kasperek, K.: Analytical techniques for the determination of 20 trace elements in biological samples by means of instrumental thermal neutron activation analysis. In: Proc of the 2nd internat. conf. on nuclear methods in environmental research, U.S. Energy research and development administration, Conf. 740701, 1974
Levine, R. J., Olson, R. E.: Blood selenium in Thai children with protein-caloric malnutrition. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 132, 1030–1034 (1970)
Lombeck, I., Kasperek, K., Feinendegen, L. E., Bremer, H. J.: Serum selenium concentration in patients with maple-syrup-urine disease and phenylketonuria under dieto-therapy. Clin. Chim. Acta 64, 57–61 (1975)
Lombeck, I., Kasperek, K., Harbisch, H. D., Feinendegen, L. E., Bremer, H. J.: The selenium state of healthy children. I. Serum selenium concentration at different ages; Activity of glutathione peroxidase of erythrocytes at different ages; Selenium content of food of infants. Europ. J. Pediat. 125, 81–88 (1977)
Lombeck, I.: Unpublished data
Muth, O. H., Weswig, P. H., Whanger, P., Oldfield, J. E.: Effect of feeding selenium-deficient ration to the subhuman primate. Amer. J. Vet. Res. 32, 1603–1605 (1971)
Noguchi, R., Cantor, A. H., Scott, M. L.: Mode of action of selenium and vitamin E in prevention of exudative diathesis in chicks. J. Nutr. 103, 1502–1511 (1973)
Oh, S. H., Ganther, H. E., Hoekstra, W. G.: Selenium as a component of glutathioneperoxidase isolated from ovine erythrocytes. Biochemistry 13, 1825–1829 (1974)
Omaye, S. T., Tappel, A. L.: Effect of dietary selenium on glutathione peroxidase in the chick. J. Nutr. 104, 747–753 (1974)
Paglia, D. E., Valentine, W. N.: Studies on the quantitative and qualitative characterization of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 70, 158–169 (1967)
Parizek, J., Ostadalova, J.: The protective effect of small amounts of selenite in sublimate intoxication. Experientia 23, 142–143 (1967)
Rotruck, J. T., Pope, A. L., Ganther, H. A., Hoekstra, W. G.: Prevention of oxidative damage to rat erythrocytes by dietary selenium. J. Nutr. 102, 689–696 (1972)
Rotruck, J. T., Pope, A. L., Ganther, H. E., Swanson, A. B., Hafeman, D. G., Hoekstra, W. G.: Selenium: Biochemical role as a component of glutathione peroxidase. Science 179, 588–590 (1973)
Rusiecki, W., Brzezinski, J.: Influence of sodium selenate on acute thallium poisonings. Acta Polon. Pharmac. 23, 74–80 (1966)
Sakurai, H., Tschuchiya, K.: A tentative recommendation for the maximum daily intake of selenium. Environ. Physiol. Biochem. 5, 107–118 (1975)
Schroeder, H. A., Frost, D. V., Balassa, J. J.: Essential trace metals in man: Selenium. J. Chron. Dis. 23, 227–243 (1970)
Schwarz, K., Foltz, C. M.: Selenium as an integral part of factor 3 against dietary necrotic liver degeneration. J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 79, 3292 (1957)
Schwarz, K.: Development and status of experimental work and factor 3 selenium. Fed. Proc. 20, 666–673 (1961)
Schwarz, K.: Selenium and kwashiorkor. Lancet 1965I, 1335–1336
Stadtman, T. C.: Selenium biochemistry. Proteins containing selenium are essential components of certain bacterial and mammalian enzyme systems. Science 183, 915–922 (1974)
Thompson, J. N., Scott, M. L.: Role of selenium in the nutrition of the chick. J. Nutr. 97, 335–342 (1969)
Vincent, J. E.: Prostaglandin synthesis and selenium deficiency. Prostaglandins 8, 339 (1974)
Watkinson, J. H.: The selenium status of New Zealanders. N. Z. Med. J. 523, 202–205 (1974)
Whanger, P. D., Pedersen, N. D., Weswig, P. H.: Selenium proteins in ovine tissues, II. Spectral properties of a 10000 molecular weight selenium protein. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 53, 1031–1035 (1973)
Wilson, K. M., Clayton, B. E.: Importance of choline during growth, with particular reference to synthetic diets in phenylketonuria. Arch. Dis. Child. 37, 565–577 (1962)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
With support of the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft”
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lombeck, I., Kasperek, K., Harbisch, H.D. et al. The selenium state of children. Eur J Pediatr 128, 213–223 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00445606
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00445606