Low serum selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase activity in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

Abstract

of the relation between use ofNSAIDs and gastrointestinal adverse reactions were reported. The first examined data based on "yellow card" reporting in the United Kingdom for the first five years of marketing of several NSAIDs," many of which were identical with those compared in our study. The Committee on Safety of Medicines concluded that piroxicam fell into a group of 12 NSAIDs for which differences in safety ".... cannot be clearly distinguished from each other based on yellow card reports." The second study compared five NSAIDs, only one of which (piroxicam) was included in this study, in an innovative postmarketing surveillance scheme, prescription event monitoring.'2 That study examined a wider range of adverse events than either our study or that of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, but the findings relating to the events affecting the gastrointestinal system were interpreted as reflecting no noteworthy differences between the drugs examined. Thus it seems reasonable to conclude that large and clinically important differences in rates of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, perforation, and ulcer between piroxicam and the rest of the NSAIDs probably do not exist. Abstract Serum selenium concentrations were found to be significantly lower in women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy than in women with normal pregnancies during the last trimester of pregnancy and post partum. The activity of the selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase had a significant positive correlation with selenium concentration and it was also significantly lower in women with the disease.These findings suggest that selenium deficiency and reduced glutathione peroxidase activity are associated with the aetiopathogenesis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. IntroductionThe aetiology of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is unknown. Patients with this condition are abnormally sensitive to oestrogens.

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy may lead to low birth weight

“…The reason for this was failure to obtain sufficient diet and selenium during the winter (13). Selenium plays a role in the detoxification of the liver as a cofactor of glutathione peroxidase, and bile secretion and formation are impaired in the event of its deficiency (14,15). In our study, when the time of diagnosis of ICP is examined, it is noteworthy that the spring and winter seasons are the most common seasons.…”

Erythrocyte Glutathione Peroxidase Activity in Hypertensive Complications of Pregnancy

“…Thus peroxide-removing GSHPx may reduce the formation of prostaglandins [3], At the same time peroxides inhibit PGI2 synthetase, and thus GSHPx may stimulate the formation of PGI2, as Schiavon et al [4] have shown experimentally with cul tured endothelial cells [4], Very little is known about GSHPx in pregnancy and pregnancy complications. In normal pregnancy GSHPx activity in erythrocytes increases [5,6] or remains un changed [7], although the level of selenium, an essential element for the function of this enzyme, is decreased [5], In intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, low levels of selenium and GSHPx have been reported [8], There is a progressive rise of lipid peroxides throughout pregnancy, and a significantly greater rise in preeclampsia [9]. Lipid peroxides have vasoconstrictive effects and may act as mediators of the vasospasm in preeclampsia [10].…”

Pregnancy-Associated Liver Disorders

“…Environmental factors may play a role since ICP has a higher prevalence in the cooler seasons. Selenium deficiency has also been suspected to be a contributing factor [100,101].…”