In this Article

• Introduction to liver blood test
• What are the aminotransferases?
• Normally, where are the aminotransferases?
• What are normal levels of AST and ALT?
• What do elevated AST and ALT mean?
• What liver diseases cause abnormal aminotransferase levels?
• What medications cause abnormal aminotransferase levels?
• What are less common causes of abnormal aminotransferase levels?
• How are healthy people evaluated for mild to moderate rises in aminotransferase levels?
• How about monitoring aminotransferase levels?
• What about other liver enzymes?
• Patient Discussions: Liver Blood Tests - Helped With Your Diagnosis
• Liver Blood Tests Index

How about monitoring aminotransferase levels?

What is usually most helpful is serial testing of AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) over time to determine whether the levels are increasing, remaining stable, or decreasing. For example, patients undergoing treatment for chronic hepatitis C should be monitored with serial liver enzyme tests. Those responding to treatment will experience lowering of liver enzyme levels to normal or near normal levels. Those who develop relapse of hepatitis C after completion of treatment will usually develop abnormal liver enzyme levels again.

What about other liver enzymes?

Aside from AST and ALT, there are other enzymes including alkaline phosphatase, 5'-nucleotidase ("5 prime" nucleotidase), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) that are often tested for liver disease.

Alkaline phosphatase is another liver enzyme frequently measured. This enzyme is usually found in the walls of the intra- and extra-biliary ducts (tube like structures within the liver that connect liver cells together). Elevation of alkaline phosphatase may indicate an injury to the biliary cells. Common causes of this are gallstones and certain mediations, although, some of the conditions listed previously can also raise the levels of this enzyme.

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