Effect of Selenium Intervention on Inflammation in Older Adults

April 5, 2018 updated by: Johns Hopkins University

Antioxidant Nutrient Inflammation Interventions in Older Adults

Serum levels of inflammatory mediators increase with age and are strongly associated with the most common and the most devastating health conditions found in older adults including frailty, chronic disease, disability and increased mortality. Even though the processes that contribute to increased inflammatory mediators are likely not completely reversible in older adults, the development of a safe and effective intervention that modulates inappropriate inflammatory responses could be a very important component of prevention against frailty and other adverse health outcomes. As part of an ongoing effort to identify molecular and physiologic triggers of inflammation in older adults, the investigators recently identified a highly significant inverse relationship between the anti-oxidant micronutrient selenium and the inflammatory mediator IL-6, as well as a significant relationship between selenium and all cause mortality in a population of community dwelling older women with selenium levels well below the mean for the overall American population. Based on our findings in older adults and on data from other studies that suggest that selenium interventions are effective in targeted populations with inflammatory conditions, the investigators hypothesize that selenium supplementation targeted to a population of older adults with increased inflammatory markers and low normal selenium levels will in the short term reduce inflammation as measured by serum IL-6, and in the long term will reduce the incidence and prevalence of inflammation associated poor health outcomes of frailty, disability, and mortality in vulnerable older adults.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

182

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224
        • Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

70 years to 110 years (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 70 years of age or older
  • Able to provide written informed consent for screening and participation in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Taking a multi-vitamin containing 60 ug or more of Selenium more than once a week
  • Have evidence of an active, untreated, acute inflammatory disease state such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, or malignancy
  • Taking any corticosteroids or the medications prednisone or methotrexate

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Sugar Pill
Other: Sugar Pill Placebo
Placebo supplements in the same capsule mold as selenium and coated with the same inert coating. 1 tablet daily for 8 weeks.
Experimental: Selenium
Dietary supplement: Selenium
200 micrograms of selenium (in the form of selenium methionine) in tablet form taken orally daily for 8 weeks. Capsule molds with inert coating.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The effects of oral selenium supplementation on the inflammatory response in older adults with an increased IL-6 level and low normal selenium levels over an 8 week intervention period.
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Serum Interleukin 6 (IL6)will be measured at baseline and every 2 weeks for the 8 weeks of the study using a standard, commercially available ELISA kit. Serum Selenium levels will also be measured at baseline and every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. The investigators hypothesize that as serum selenium levels increase with supplementation there will be a statistically significant decrease in serum IL6. IL6 levels should remain unchanged over 8 weeks in those taking the placebo.
8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The effects of selenium supplementation on the activity of the selenium- dependent antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase, and on altered protein production in older adults with increased serum IL-6 and low normal levels of selenium.
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Glutathione peroxidase will be measured at baseline and at week 8. Glucose, Vitamin B-12, folate, methionine, and albumin will be measured in serum drawn at baseline and every 2 weeks for the 8 weeks of the study. the investigators hypothesize that levels of glutathione peroxidase and proteins may change significantly in participants taking selenium. There should be no significant changes in these parameters in those taking the placebo.
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Johns Hopkins University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jeremy D Walston, MD, Johns Hopkins University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 20, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

January 20, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 3, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 3, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

February 4, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 9, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 5, 2018

Last Verified

April 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NA_00002109

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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