Selenium in rheumatoid arthritis. A historical prospective approach.

Time-dependent changes in serum selenium concentrations were studied in 28 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and the concentrations were related to disease activity. The mean length of the observation period was 7.3 years and a mean of 6 analyses was performed for each patient. Serum selenium fluctuated with disease activity in most patients and a relatively low concentration was recorded in periods of high disease activity. Gold treatment had no influence on the selenium concentrations and selenium levels measured within the first year of the disease were not demonstrated to have any prognostic significance.