Study of Blood Selenium Level in Thyroid Pathologies by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

Selected Essential and Toxic Chemical Elements in Hypothyroidism—A Literature Review (2001–2021)

“…Therefore, the conclusions on the lack of associations between selenium levels and thyroid hormones are not fully convincing. Furthermore, another study by Benamer et al [ 25 ] determining Se concentrations in whole blood revealed no significant differences between patients with hypothyroidism and the healthy controls. However, this study was based on an extremely small sample size ( n = 8 hypothyroid patients), thus it was difficult to draw reliable conclusions.…”

“…Typically, the contents of the chemical elements in relation to hypothyroidism were determined in serum [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ], blood [ 25 , 46 , 47 ], plasma [ 48 , 49 , 50 ] or urine [ 42 , 46 , 47 , 51 ]. The chemical, electrochemical, optical spectrometry, X-ray spectrometry, mass spectrometry, and nuclear methods are commonly used for the analyses.…”

“…Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) proved to be the most popular analytical technique used especially for Se, Zn, Mn, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Pb determinations [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 40 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 50 ]. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP MS) was applied for Mn, Cu, Zn, Se, Pb, Cd, Cr, and F [ 30 , 34 , 39 , 43 , 47 ], whereas Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) for Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, respectively [ 25 , 52 ]. Methodologies applying Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF) for Se, Cu, Zn [ 24 , 26 , 34 ] and potentiometric measurements by the use of ion selective electrodes for F [ 41 , 42 , 51 ] were described.…”

“…Current literature on this subject emphasizes and provides evidence that exposure to certain chemical elements (e.g., heavy metals), contributes to the etiopathogenesis of hypothyroidism and the autoimmune process. Despite the large number of studies conducted over many years [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ], there are still no clear conclusions regarding correlations between the concentrations of chemical elements and the occurrence of hypothyroidism and the intensified autoimmune process associated with it. The latest research is revealing new data, so there is a need to assess the current state of knowledge in this area.…”