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What Causes Elevated Liver Enzyme Levels?
Question: Liver enzymes moderately high AST and ALT what problems do they indicate
Brief Answer:
non alcoholic liver disease is one of the more common causes
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The more common causes of increases in AST and ALT can be due to : (1) non alcoholic fatty liver disease- this is one of the most common causes as present
It is due to build up of fat in the liver which can then go on to cause inflammation and damage to the liver if it is allowed to progress
Treated with diet changes, activity and medications
(2)alcohol- persistent use of a lot of alcohol causes damage
(3)side effect of medications eg statins for cholesterol. This does not happen to all persons who use the statins, only some
(4)infection- hepatitis is another cause of abnormal liver enzymes
(5)hemochromatosis- iron is deposited in the liver
Your doctor may suggest an ultrasound or CT of the abdomen to take a look at the liver.
Additional bloods, if not already done, may also be requested to determine the cause eg complete blood count, cholesterol levels, iron and the hepatitis viruses
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
non alcoholic liver disease is one of the more common causes
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The more common causes of increases in AST and ALT can be due to : (1) non alcoholic fatty liver disease- this is one of the most common causes as present
It is due to build up of fat in the liver which can then go on to cause inflammation and damage to the liver if it is allowed to progress
Treated with diet changes, activity and medications
(2)alcohol- persistent use of a lot of alcohol causes damage
(3)side effect of medications eg statins for cholesterol. This does not happen to all persons who use the statins, only some
(4)infection- hepatitis is another cause of abnormal liver enzymes
(5)hemochromatosis- iron is deposited in the liver
Your doctor may suggest an ultrasound or CT of the abdomen to take a look at the liver.
Additional bloods, if not already done, may also be requested to determine the cause eg complete blood count, cholesterol levels, iron and the hepatitis viruses
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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