ALANINE – AMINOTRANSFERASE(=ALT =SGPT)
Normal (5-45 U/L)
● high level suggests----- viral or drug induced hepatitis, or extensive hepatitis with necrosis of another source.
●Normal levels in infants are 2-times that of adults
● Found mainly in liver
● It is fairly specific for liver damage.
●Levels will be raised before jaundice appears.
● Levels of ALT fluctuate slightly throughout the day, and are particularly raised after exercise.
● It is generally raised in liver problems, and less so in problems with the bile duct. It may also be raised in heart problems.
● More specific for liver damage than AST.
●Levels of ALT and AST both raised above 2x normal then this is significant.
●If transferases are very high (greater than 1000 U/L) then the diagnosis is almost certainly hepatitis
● Alcoholic liver disease will never cause an AST of >1000 u/L