The Effect of Selenium on Ulcerative Colitis Progression
Open Access
- Author:
- Cornelius, Steven Richard
- Area of Honors:
- Immunology and Infectious Disease
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Kumble Sandeep Prabhu, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Lester C Griel Jr., Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- selenium
ulcerative colitis
anti-inflammatory
autoimmune
oxidative stress
prostaglandin - Abstract:
- Ulcerative colitis is an idiopathic autoimmune disorder which currently is treated primarily with corticosteroids and other immunosuppressants. These treatments leave ulcerative colitis patients at risk for opportunistic infections and cancer. It has been shown that selenium has anti-inflammatory properties due to its ability to modulate the immune response without inhibiting it. However, no in vivo experiments have been conducted to evaluate selenium’s efficacy in treating ulcerative colitis in humans or in laboratory animals. Therefore, a preliminary selenium supplementation study was conducted in C57Bl/6 mice to evaluate the effect of supplemental selenium in treating symptoms similar to those noted in ulcerative colitis among humans. The results of this preliminary study suggested promise for selenium in reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting prostaglandin-mediated inflammation associated with ulcerative colitis. In addition, mice treated with selenium had reduced progression of this disease based on qualitative assessment of individual colons. Larger scale replications studies in laboratory animals are warranted to further clarify the efficacy of selenium for treating those symptoms. The current findings raise the possibility that selenium might eventually be shown to be useful for treating ulcerative colitis in future treatment trials involving humans.