The brain and testis retain selenium better than other tissues during selenium deficiency. Studies of mice with selenoprotein P (Sepp1) deleted (Sepp1(-/-) mice) showed that brain and testis selenium levels are largely dependent on Sepp1. Therefore, we examined tissue selenium in mice fed varying amounts of selenium and in Sepp1(-/-) mice to characterize better the role(s) of Sepp1. Mice were f...

The effects of high-sodium (HS) and normal-sodium (NS) diets on ovarian hormone modulation of mean arterial pressure (MAP) were examined in Dahl salt-resistant (DR) and salt-sensitive (DS) rats. Ovariectomy increased MAP (OVX-Sham) to a greater extent in DS rats maintained for 2 wk on a HS (22 mmHg) compared with a NS (6 mmHg) diet. Ovariectomy had no effect on MAP in DR rats on NS but did incr...

Postmenopausal estrogen deficiency increases the incidence of cerebrovascular disease. However, hormone replacement therapy is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator with estrogenic effects on cardiovascular risk factors, but its long-term impacts on cerebral vasculature are unknown. We hypothesized that chronic 17beta-estradiol or...

Breast cancer probably consists of a spectrum of diseases in terms of its hormonal dependence, as evidenced by the responses of patients to endocrine therapy. It is generally assumed that hormone-dependent breast cancers, which me spond to ovariectomy, would also respond to antiestrogen therapy. Studies in humans indicate a good correlation be tween the presence of estrogen receptor and respons...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Plasma selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity are commonly used as markers of selenium nutritional status. However, plasma selenium concentrations fall independently of selenium status during the acute phase response and GPx is analytically problematic. The assay for erythrocyte selenium is robust and concentrations are unaffected by the systemic infl...

HYPOTHESIS The selective estrogen receptor modulator raloxifene hydrochloride inhibits intimal hyperplasia. DESIGN Controlled laboratory experiment. SETTING Experimental animal model. INTERVENTION AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Forty-three senile female sheep were randomized to sham operation, ovariectomy, or ovariectomy followed by treatment with 17beta-estradiol or raloxifene. Six months aft...

In clinical treatment, there is increasingly prevalent that traditional Chinese medicine treats common bone diseases including osteoporosis. Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), one of the essential compounds Safflower, has been used as therapy for thrombus, myocardial ischemia, and inflammation, but its effect on osteogenesis through epigenetic control ovariectomy-induced loss in vivo not explored....

Selenium-containing proteins (e.g., glutathione peroxidases) are important antioxidants in neuronal defense against oxidative stress. In this study, the production of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in the brain of the Tg2576 transgenic mice was investigated under dietary selenium-deficient conditions. The 16-week-old mice were fed a selenium-deficient diet (0.004 μg-selenium g(-1)-diet) or a selenium-a...

Introduction Research efforts have identified groups of people with low selenium intakes and presumed selenium deficiency based on low blood selenium levels. Inhabitants of New Zealand [1], Finland [2], and China [3] often have low blood selenium. Individuals with therapeutic diets low in selenium [4], people undergoing parenteral administration [5] and alcoholics with cirrhosis [6] can also be...

Selenium is an essential nutrient for animals, microorganisms and some other eukaryotes. Although selenium has not been demonstrated to be essential in vascular plants, the ability of some plants to accumulate and transform selenium into bioactive compounds has important implications for human nutrition and health, and for the environment. Selenium-accumulating plants provide unique tools to he...