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However, very high elevations of the transaminases suggests severe liver damage, such as viral hepatitis, liver injury from lack of blood flow, or injury from drugs or toxins. Most disease processes cause ALT to rise higher than AST; AST levels double or triple that of ALT are consistent with alcoholic liver disease. [citation needed]
When ALT rises to more than 500 IU/L, causes are usually from the liver. It can be due to hepatitis, ischemic liver injury, and toxins that causes liver damage. The ALT levels in hepatitis C rises more than in hepatitis A and B. Persistent ALT elevation more than 6 months is known as chronic hepatitis.
Significantly elevated levels of ALT (SGPT) often suggest the existence of other medical problems such as viral hepatitis, diabetes, congestive heart failure, liver damage, bile duct problems, infectious mononucleosis, or myopathy, so ALT is commonly used as a way of screening for liver problems. [citation needed] Elevated ALT may also be ...
The proportion of AST to ALT in hepatocytes is about 2.5:1, but because AST is removed from serum by the liver sinusoidal cells twice as quickly (serum half-life t 1/2 = 18 hr) compared to ALT (t 1/2 = 36 hr), so the resulting serum levels of AST and ALT are about equal in healthy individuals, resulting in a normal AST/ALT ratio around 1.
It is the major cause of liver disease in Western countries, and is the leading cause of death from excessive drinking. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Although steatosis ( fatty liver disease ) will develop in any individual who consumes a large quantity of alcoholic beverages over a long period of time, this process is transient and reversible. [ 1 ]
Budd Chiari syndrome may present with elevated liver enzymes; alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are often elevated in the acute phase and then decrease over time as chronic liver disease develops. [2]
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