Diskin C J, Tomasso C L, Alper J C, Glaser M L, Fliegel S E
Arch Intern Med. 1979 Jul;139(7):824-6.
Metabolic pathways and toxic effects of long-term selenium exposure in animal models and humans have both similarities and significant differences. In animal models the target organ is the liver, in which chronic cirrhosis develops. In man the target organ appears to be the lung, which manifests acute "rose cold," or, as in our patient, a chronic granulomatous hypersensitivity. Our data indicate not only a different target organ than would have been predicted from animal models, but also a difference in the distribution of selenium in human tissues. Long-term use of selenium favors production of dimethylselenide, which is excreted by the lungs and should be considered a pulmonary toxin. The ramifications of these findings may require a change in the monitoring techniques of long-term industrial exposure and mandate a close follow-up of selenium as a health fad.
动物模型和人类长期接触硒的代谢途径及毒性作用既有相似之处，也存在显著差异。在动物模型中，靶器官是肝脏，会发展为慢性肝硬化。在人类中，靶器官似乎是肺，表现为急性“玫瑰感冒”，或者如我们的患者那样，表现为慢性肉芽肿性超敏反应。我们的数据不仅表明靶器官与从动物模型预测的不同，还表明硒在人体组织中的分布存在差异。长期使用硒有利于二甲基硒的产生，二甲基硒由肺排出，应被视为一种肺毒素。这些发现的影响可能需要改变长期工业接触的监测技术，并要求密切关注将硒作为一种健康时尚的情况。
