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What are Considered Elevated Liver Enzymes?
Liver function tests usually have two types of enzymes: AST and ALT. However, we can also measure serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). The normal range of liver enzymes may vary depending on the laboratory and the procedure used to measure its levels. However, they are usually close to these numbers:
- Alanine aminotransferase (ALT): up to 42 micromoles per liter
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST): up to 37 micromoles per liter
- Serum Alkaline phosphatase (ALP): normal range between 60 and 306 micromoles per liter
- Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT): normal range between 11-60 micromoles per liter
A higher number than that is usually not normal and should be evaluated by a doctor.
But the question remains: Why is it that high liver enzymes are detrimental to your health? As noted above, most of these enzymes are not found in other organs of the body. Only the liver synthesizes liver enzymes such as ALT and AST. Thus, the only way they can escape the liver and stay in the blood is when hepatocytes are destroyed.
Elevated liver enzymes suggest that hepatocytes are breaking fast and liberating the enzymes in the blood. This is because there’s either a dysfunction in the liver or a hepatic lesion with significant destruction of the normal tissue.
As you can see, the reason why we don’t want to have high liver enzyme levels is not that they cause any damage by themselves. It is because they are probably leaking from a damaged liver.
Next, see what causes elevated liver enzymes.
References
Giannini, E. G., Testa, R., & Savarino, V. (2005). Liver enzyme alteration: a guide for clinicians. Cmaj, 172(3), 367-379.
Kwo, P. Y., Cohen, S. M., & Lim, J. K. (2017). ACG clinical guideline: evaluation of abnormal liver chemistries. Official journal of the American College of Gastroenterology| ACG, 112(1), 18-35.
Hall, P., & Cash, J. (2012). What is the real function of the liver ‘function’tests?. The Ulster medical journal, 81(1), 30.
Malakouti, M., Kataria, A., Ali, S. K., & Schenker, S. (2017). Elevated liver enzymes in asymptomatic patients–what should I do?. Journal of clinical and translational hepatology, 5(4), 394.
