This review is based upon an article posted to the Internet newsgroup sci.med.aids in August 1995 (at the request of one of the newsgroup moderators), in an effort, to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the issue of selenium (Se) and AIDS. It has been updated with new developments and data (theoretical, experimental and clinical) that have emerged in the two years since it was first written. Much of the current interest in the role of Se in viral diseases and AIDS in particular has been stimulated by media coverage of several recent scientific papers, specifically my theoretical paper showing that HIV-1 potentially encodes Se-containing proteins,1 and more recently the work of Dr. Melinda Beck and coworkers demonstrating that the cardiovirulence of coxsackievirus B3 is highly dependent upon the Se status of the host, and that the virus actually mutates into a more virulent form in Se-deficient mice.

More recently (Christmas, 1996), Se has been in the news in regard to the first definitive clinical cancer study in the USA, by dark and coworkers at the University of Arizona Cancer Center,3 showing that daily supplementation with 200 micrograms of Se produced a significant chemopreventive effect against, several forms of cancer, with a 50% reduction in total cancer mortality over the entire study period. The national media coverage given to all of these papers has drawn much needed attention i.o the issue of the potential, roles of Se in viral diseases and cancer, but naturally has led to some confusion as well, since the science involved is not easily explained in a few paragraphs. It must also be noted that researchers like Dr. Gerhard Schrauzer have for many years been accumulating evidence for the potential benefits of Se, not only against cancer, but also in viral diseases (and retroviral diseases in particular),4 only to be widely ignored by "mainstream" researchers and clinicians. Hopefully, this review will help to rectify that situation, t will begin by summarizing some of the facts about Se, AIDS, and other viral diseases. To keep the number of references within reason, I will generally only include citations directly related to the question of the role of Se in AIDS or other viral diseases.