Comparison of Selenium Serum Levels in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis and Normal Individuals

Abstract

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory and chronic autoimmune disease that manifests as nerve lesions in the central nervous system. This study measured the serum levels of selenium (Se) in MS patients and normal individuals. Methods: Overall, 70 patients with MS and 70 thermally healthy individuals were selected for the purpose of the study. Their blood samples were poured into the buffer, and the serum was separated. Then, the serum levels of Se were measured using an atomic absorption device. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, and a t-test of two independent groups was utilized for comparison. The significance level of the tests was 5%. Results: In this study, by examining the amount of Se in the serum of both normal groups and patients, it was observed that the amount of Se in patients with MS was significantly lower than that of normal people. The findings demonstrated that the Se serum levels in the two groups of MS patients and healthy individuals were 85±40 and 130±30 micrograms/liter, respectively. The observed difference in the amount of serum Se at the level above 5% was significant based on the t-test. Conclusion: The findings of this research showed that the serum levels of Se in MS patients were lower than in healthy individuals. Decreasing serum Se can play a decisive role in causing people to suffer from MS.