Selenium intake helps prevents loss of cognitive function: NewsTarget.com

A person's selenium intake throughout life may influence how well they retain cognitive function as they age, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

In a cross-sectional survey of cognitive function in rural elderly Chinese, researchers found that decreasing selenium levels as measured in nail sample are associated with lower cognitive scores when controlling for age, gender, education, body mass index and APOE status. APOE is a protein that people's bodies naturally produce in different forms. Scientists have previously discovered correlations between the form of this protein and the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers in the China study found that the difference in cognitive scores between those with the lowest selenium levels and those with the highest was equivalent to a 10-year age difference among the latter group.

Because the brain reacts differently to selenium than other parts of the body, and because the slowest-maturing sections of the brain are the first to be affected by Alzheimer's, the researchers emphasized the importance of long- over short-term selenium intake.

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Selenium intake prevents loss of brain function as we age

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