Selenium

[shannah]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I've never posted here before but visit occassionally to read - or rather to glean information - as energy etc. to do either is very limited. If I'm posting in the incorrect section, please feel free to let me know or move the thread as appropriate.

Selenium is said to inhibit viral replication and is promoted at this site

http://seleniumhiv.blogspot.com/

as disrupting HIV and raising CD4 & T cell counts. But as I understand it, with XMRV, that is exactly what we don't want as the virus replicates through these cells.

Am I reading this correctly? Opinions? Comments?

If this is true, then I wonder how many other supplements we may be taking thinking they are helpful yet may be doing more harm than good.

 

[Rrrr]

reply

hi, i think there is a thread on "natural" antiviral remedies. maybe re-post your note there?

 

[shannah]

Selenium & XMRV

Thanks for replying - I'll go look for it.

 

[shannah]

Selenium & XMRV

http://seleniumhiv.blogspot.com/

Selenium is said to inhibit viral replication. This site says that it disrupts HIV but that that it also raises CD4 & T cell counts.

As I understand it, with XMRV, stimulation of these cells is exactly what we don't want as the virus replicates through these particular cells.

So if this is true, then would it be correct to assume that selenium would be contraindicated for those with XMRV?

Another question this raises is this. Does HIV not replicate through the same T and B cells that XMRV does?

 

[guest]

I would be interested in an answer too.

 

[cfs since 1998]

http://seleniumhiv.blogspot.com/

Selenium is said to inhibit viral replication. This site says that it disrupts HIV but that that it also raises CD4 & T cell counts.

As I understand it, with XMRV, stimulation of these cells is exactly what we don't want as the virus replicates through these particular cells.

So if this is true, then would it be correct to assume that selenium would be contraindicated for those with XMRV?

Another question this raises is this. Does HIV not replicate through the same T and B cells that XMRV does?

I think you are looking at this the wrong way. When an HIV person takes Selenium and their CD4/T cell counts go up, it is not because selenium is "stimulating" those cells, it is because the slower replication of HIV reduces the rate of cell death.

From Wikipedia:

HIV infects primarily vital cells in the human immune system such as helper T cells (to be specific, CD4+ T cells), macrophages, and dendritic cells. HIV infection leads to low levels of CD4+ T cells through three main mechanisms: First, direct viral killing of infected cells; second, increased rates of apoptosis in infected cells; and third, killing of infected CD4+ T cells by CD8 cytotoxic lymphocytes that recognize infected cells.

I have been taking selenium for awhile now (100 micrograms/day) and this information you've posted convinces me more that I should be taking it, not less.

 

[shannah]

Ahhhh - I think I'm beginning to understand now!

So the selenium itself does not have a direct effect on infected cells but rather an indirect one. As it inhibits the virus, the process allows the T & B cells to raise hopefully healthier. Why didn't they say that? Very confusing. Seems to be a question of the language they've used I guess.

I became rather alarmed when I first read this piece thinking that the selenium I was taking was raising the level of the infected cells.

Thanks so much for the clarification. I'll watch for that with other research.

Love your little timepiece by the way. A statement in itself. Makes me dizzy watching it these days although I do have a faint remembrance of a previous lifetime when I enjoyed whizzing through life at that pace.

 

[shannah]

Thanks for posting the link to the study "Too much selenium can increase your cholesterol". Good information to know.