CHAPTER 26: Selenium in Autoimmune Thyroiditis

Selenium (Se) has an important role in protecting the thyroid against oxidative damage, and takes part in activating and deactivating thyroid hormones as a component of the catalytic site of selenodeiodinases.Se also takes action directly on immune cells, targeting the T lymphocytes. Based on these premises, several authors have speculated in the last ten years that a poor Se status plays a crucial part in generating and perpetuating the autoimmune processin thyroid autoimmune diseases (TADs), including Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), postpartum thyroiditis (PTT) Graves'disease (GD), and Graves' orbitopathy (GO). This chapter analyzes the effects of Se supplementation in patients with TADs, reviewingthe studies published on this topic to date.