SCREENING OF EFFECTS OF SELENOMETHIONINE-ENRICHED YEAST SUPPLEMENTATION ON VARIOUS IMMUNOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL-PARAMETERS OF SKIN AND BLOOD IN PSORIATIC PATIENTS

Selenium (Se) is known to affect the immune system, and decreased Se-l evels in blood of patients with moderate or severe psoriasis have been reported. In this study, the effect of Se-supplementation (400 mug/da y for 6 weeks as Se-yeast, containing about 70% selenomethionine, SeMe t) on skin and blood Se-content, on skin glutathione peroxidase activi ty and on various chemical and immunological parameters of blood and s kin was investigated in 7 psoriatic patients. Before the SeMet-supplem entation, serum and blood Se-levels were at the normal range, but they increased 42-45% during the Se-dosage, while zinc levels remained unc hanged. Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity in both normal an d lesional psoriatic skin remained unchanged during the trial, althoug h a small net Se-uptake was detected. At the same time, a slight but s tatistically significant increase in the number of CD4+ T-cells was ob served in the reticular dermis of the psoriatic lesions whereas the nu mbers of CD8+, CD11c+, and CD1+ cells were not significantly altered. Also, a relatively high number of patients (3 out of 7) showed a stron gly reduced number of gamma/delta T-lymphocytes or increased CD8+ T-ce lls (2 patients) in peripheral blood. However, SeMet-supplementation w as not related to these abnormalities or to the number of other periph eral blood immunocytes or to serum immunoglobulin levels. In addition, no marked effect on the clinical condition of the patients was observ ed. This pilot study suggests that SeMet may be able to modulate the i mmunological mechanism of psoriatic lesions by increasing the number o f CD4+ T-cells.