title: Postmortem serum selenium concentrations and their possible etiological role in sudden infant death (SID).
abstract: The importance of selenium (Se) deficiency in the pathogenesis of human diseases such as Keshan Disease has been extensively studied. It is possible that low Se-levels could cause immunosuppression and be an etiological factor in Sudden Infant Death (SID). We investigated 50 serum samples (40 SID and 10 non-SID victims) by atomic absorption spectrometry. The results show that there is no evidence of a serum selenium deficiency in SID-victims in the region of Aachen. A relationship between selenium concentration and the infant immune system still remains speculative and 21 samples even showed increased serum levels. It could be necessary to define a 'local' normal range by examining a greater number of healthy infants.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Rhein.-Westfalian Technical University (RWTH), Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lemke
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schäfer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Makropoulos
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood*; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D012643:Selenium