Selenide protects heart muscle in the wake of cardiac arrest

Damage to heart muscle from insufficient blood supply during cardiac arrest and reperfusion injury after blood flow is restored can be reduced by nearly 90 percent if selenide, a form of the essential nutrient selenium, is administered intravenously in the wake of the attack, according to a new preclinical study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Mark Roth, Ph.D., and colleagues in the Fred Hutch Basic Sciences Division have published their findings.