Affiliations: National Institute of Rheumatology and Physiotherapy, Budapest, Hungary | National Public Health Institute of Finland, Helsinki, Finland | 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perinatal Intensive Center, Semmelweis Medical School, Budapest, Hungary
Note: [] Correspondence to: Dr. Gábor Bogye, Frankel Leó u. 7, 1027 Budapest, Hungary. Fax: +36 1 1864 851.
Abstract: There are no data in the literature on effects of supplementing infants with yeast‐selenium. We therefore studied the impact of selenium‐enriched yeast on the serum selenium concentration of preterm infants living in a selenium‐low area (Hungary). Twenty‐eight preterm infants with a mean \pm SD birthweight of 962 \pm 129 g and a gestational age of 27 \pm 1 weeks were randomized into two groups at birth with respect to selenium supplementation. In the supplemented group (n=14) infants received 4.8 mg yeast containing 5 \mug selenium daily with naso‐gastric drip during the first 14 postnatal days. The nonsupplemented infants were used as a reference group. In the supplemented group the serum selenium concentration increased from 32.1 \pm 8.5 \mug/l to 41.5 \pm 6.5 \mug/l and in the nonsupplemented group it decreased from 25.9 \pm 6.8 \mug/l to 18.2 \pm 6.4 \mug/l within two weeks. The serum glutathione peroxidase activity increased from 2.97 \pm 0.73 U/20 \mul to 6.42 \pm 3.11 U/20 \mul in the supplemented group, and it did not change significantly (from 3.53 \pm 0.94 U/20 \mul to 3.85 \pm 0.95 U/20 \mul) in the nonsupplemented group. We did not observe any complications or side effects in connection with enteral yeast‐selenium supplementation. It is concluded that selenium‐enriched yeast is a safe and an effective form of short term enteral selenium supplementation for preterm infants.
