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Selenium Antagonism with Mercury and Arsenic: From Chemistry to Population Health and Demography

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Selenium

Abstract

Selenium (Se) has been shown to act as a functional antagonist to mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As). Se may influence Hg and As toxicity by modulating redox homeostasis and inflammation. At the same time, the clinical significance of such interactions is questionable. Despite extensive experimental data, human studies on the interaction between these trace elements, as well as on the influence of such interaction on human health are limited. Current data are reviewed on how Hg and Se interplay impacts on cardiovascular diseases, neurotoxicity, neurodegeneration, diabetes and obesity. Studies also demonstrate that the interaction between Se and As significantly affects the development of certain cardiovascular diseases and cancer. This notion is further supported by the results of our analysis of 63,118 adults and 13,734 children from different regions of Russia indicating that the hair Se/Hg ratio is characterized by a tighter association with demographical indices (birth rate, mortality, life span, total morbidity) and morbidity than Hg or Se individually. It is proposed that modulation of the Se/As and Se/Hg ratios in humans may help to improve population health and demography.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biotechnology and Applied Bioelementology, Yaroslavl State University, Yaroslavl, 150000, Russia

    Anatoly V. Skalny & Alexey A. Tinkov

  2. Russian Society of Trace Elements in Medicine, ANO “Centre for Biotic Medicine”, Moscow, 105064, Russia

    Anatoly V. Skalny & Margarita G. Skalnaya

  3. Institute of Bioelementology (Russian Satellite Centre of Trace Element – Institute for UNESCO), Orenburg State University, Orenburg, 460352, Russia

    Anatoly V. Skalny, Alexandr A. Nikonorov & Alexey A. Tinkov

  4. All-Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (VILAR), Moscow, 117216, Russia

    Anatoly V. Skalny

  5. Department of Biochemistry, Orenburg State Medical University, Orenburg, 460000, Russia

    Alexandr A. Nikonorov & Alexey A. Tinkov

Authors
  1. Anatoly V. Skalny
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  2. Margarita G. Skalnaya
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  3. Alexandr A. Nikonorov
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  4. Alexey A. Tinkov
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Correspondence to Anatoly V. Skalny .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Dolph L. Hatfield

  2. Institut für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Ulrich Schweizer

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA

    Petra A. Tsuji

  4. Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Vadim N. Gladyshev

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Skalny, A.V., Skalnaya, M.G., Nikonorov, A.A., Tinkov, A.A. (2016). Selenium Antagonism with Mercury and Arsenic: From Chemistry to Population Health and Demography. In: Hatfield, D., Schweizer, U., Tsuji, P., Gladyshev, V. (eds) Selenium. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41283-2_34

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