| Keshan's disease | |||||
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- What is Keshan's disease?
- Symptoms of Keshan's disease
- Causes of Keshan's disease
- Treatment of Keshan's disease
- Important Keshan's disease facts
Keshan's disease is a condition which occurs when there is a deficiency of selenium intake. It is named for the region in China where it was first discovered in the children and young women of the area, where the soil is deficient in selenium (normal soil contains adequate amounts of selenium so normally prevents this condition from occuring).
Keshan's disease causes an abnormality of the heart muscles that causes it to function abnormally. Many children and young women in China (not just in the Keshan region) died because of the lack of seleium causing this condition.
Normal selenium intake protects against developing Keshan's disease, but it cannot reverse damage to the heart muscle once it occurs.
- Arrhythmia
- Cardiac insufficiency
- Heart enlargement
- Loss of heart tissue
Keshan's disease is believed to be caused by a deficiency of the mineral selenium.
While selenium deficiency plays a large role in development of Keshan's disease, it is also thought that due to the seasonal and annual variation in its occurrence, this could mean that bacterial or viral infection may also be involved.
Diagnosis and testing
Blood test to determine levels of selenium and various cardiac tests.
Conventional treatment
- Selenium supplementation
Alternative / complementary treatment
Always ensure that you notify your medical practitioner of any supplements that you want to take - it may interfere with other medication or conditions you have. Confirm with your doctor it is safe to take BEFORE you try it.
- Selenium supplementation
Selenium supplementation needs to be monitored to review the patient as over-supplementation can lead to toxic effects and further health problems.
Important Keshan's disease facts
- Ensure to get enough selenium in your diet - especially children and young adults
- Brazil nuts are high in selenium
references
- Beck MA, Esworthy RS, Ho YS, Chu FF. Glutathione peroxidase protects mice from viral-induced myocarditis. Faseb J. 1998;12(12):1143-1149
- Bedwal RS, Nair N, Sharma MP, Mathur RS. Selenium--its biological perspectives. Med Hypotheses. 1993 Aug;41(2):150-9
- Burk RF, Levander OA. Selenium. In: Shils M, Olson JA, Shike M, Ross AC, eds. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 9th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1999:265-276
- Daniels LA, Gibson RA, Simmer KN. Indicators of selenium status in Australian infants. Journ Paedriatrics and Child Health. 2000 Aug;36(4):370-374
- Foster LH, Sumar S. Selenium in health and disease: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 1997;37(3):211-228
- Hurst JW, Fuster V. Hurst's the Heart. McGraw-Hill Professional; 11 edition, 2004
- Lee BJ, Park SI, Park JM, Chittum HS, Hatfield DJ. Molecular Biology of Selenium and Its Role in Human Health. Mol. Cells, 1996; 6(5):509-520
- Levander OA. Coxsackievirus as a model of viral evolution driven by dietary oxidative stress. Nutr Rev. 2000;58(2 Pt 2):S17-24
- Voshchenko AV, Ivanov VN, Bondarev GI, Samoilenko IV, Chugaev VN. Selenium content in food products, rations and blood serum in humans in an area endemic with respect to Keshan's disease. Vopr Pitan. 1989 Jan-Feb;(1):65-6
To learn more, go to the Office of Dietary Supplements USA web site.
