Patients taking 200 micrograms of high selenium yeast daily saw an average 12 percent drop in blood virus levels, a study in the U.S. Archives of Internal Medicine said.

    "I liken selenium to a lion tamer in a circus," said lead author Barry Hurwitz, a professor of psychology and medicine at the University of Miami. "What it appears to do is (to) make (the virus) more docile, less virulent and less likely to replicate."

    Hurwitz's study looked at 174 HIV patients in the Miami area. About two-thirds of the patients were already taking antiretroviral drugs, and a third were not taking any. 

    They were randomly assigned to take a prescription of either 200 micrograms of selenium supplements or a placebo every day.

    The study found that the people who regularly took their selenium pills saw the virus in their blood drop by about 10,000 viral particles per milliliter of blood after nine months, a mean decrease of about 12 percent. The number of immune cells, known as T-cells, increased by a mean of about 30 cells per microliter of blood.

   The placebo group experienced an increase in their HIV viral load and a decrease in their T-cell count.

   Selenium had a good effect during the nine months period regardless of what kind of drug regimen the patients were on, Hurwitz said.

   Selenium is a trace mineral in soil that can be absorbed by plants. Cows and other animals can also absorb the mineral if they feed on grain grown in soil with selenium.

   Research has linked selenium deficiency to forms of heart disease, hypothyroidism and a weakened immune system. Previous studies also have found that the mineral suppresses HIV replication in the lab and that some HIV patients have lower selenium levels.

(Agencies)