Two systematic review s have evaluated controlled trials among patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and report that selenium supplementation decreases circulating thyroid autoantibodies .
The immunomodulatory effects of selenium might involve reducing proinflammatory cytokine release .
In Graves ’ disease , some , but not all , trials indicate that adjuvant selenium supplementation enhances the restoration of biochemical euthyroidism , and might benefit patients with mild Graves ’ orbitopathy .
The available evidence from trials does not support routine selenium supplementation in the st and ard treatment of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis or Graves ’ disease .
However , correction of moderate to severe selenium deficiency may offer benefits in preventing , as well as treating , these disorders .
Purpose of review This review provides an appraisal of recent evidence for or against selenium supplementation in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases , and discusses possible effect mechanisms .
Recent findings Epidemiological data suggest an increased prevalence of autoimmune thyroid diseases under conditions of low dietary selenium intake .
However , clinical ly relevant effects of selenium supplementation , including improvement in quality of life , are more elusive .
Haemostatic effects of levothyroxine and selenomethionine in euthyroid patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
The aim of this prospect i ve study was to investigate for the first time whether levothyroxine and selenomethionine , administered alone or in combination , affect coagulation and fibrinolysis in Hashimoto 's thyroiditis patients with normal thyroid function tests . A group of 155 ambulatory women with recently diagnosed and previously untreated Hashimoto 's thyroiditis , of whom 149 completed the study , were r and omly assigned in a double-blind fashion to six months of treatment with levothyroxine , selenomethionine , levothyroxine plus selenomethionine , or placebo . The control group included 39 matched healthy women . The prothrombin time ratio , the activated partial thromboplastin time , and plasma levels/activities of fibrinogen , factor VII , von Willebr and factor , factor X and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 ( PAI-1 ) were assessed at baseline and after three and six months of treatment . Compared with the healthy subjects , Hashimoto 's thyroiditis patients exhibited higher plasma levels/activities of all of the parameters studied , as well as were characterised by the abnormal prothrombin time ratio and activated partial thromboplastin time . All these haemostatic disturbances were reduced or normalised by levothyroxine + selenomethionine treatment , while the effect of levothyroxine or selenomethionine was limited to fibrinogen and PAI-1 , respectively . Our results demonstrate that euthyroid women with Hashimoto 's thyroiditis are characterised by abnormal coagulation and fibrinolysis .  Levothyroxine and selenomethionine , especially if administered together , produce a beneficial effect on haemostasis in euthyroid patients with this disorder
Two systematic review s have evaluated controlled trials among patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and report that selenium supplementation decreases circulating thyroid autoantibodies .
The immunomodulatory effects of selenium might involve reducing proinflammatory cytokine release .
In Graves ’ disease , some , but not all , trials indicate that adjuvant selenium supplementation enhances the restoration of biochemical euthyroidism , and might benefit patients with mild Graves ’ orbitopathy .
The available evidence from trials does not support routine selenium supplementation in the st and ard treatment of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis or Graves ’ disease .
However , correction of moderate to severe selenium deficiency may offer benefits in preventing , as well as treating , these disorders .
Purpose of review This review provides an appraisal of recent evidence for or against selenium supplementation in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases , and discusses possible effect mechanisms .
Recent findings Epidemiological data suggest an increased prevalence of autoimmune thyroid diseases under conditions of low dietary selenium intake .
However , clinical ly relevant effects of selenium supplementation , including improvement in quality of life , are more elusive .