Liver enzymes are proteins in your liver that speed up chemical reactions. If your liver is damaged, blood tests will show abnormally high levels of these enzymes circulating in your bloodstream.

For patients with chronic viral hepatitis, clinicians instinctively rely on liver enzyme measurements to estimate disease activity and assess need for liver biopsy or antiviral treatment. Although ...

Liver diseases are commonly diagnosed using serum enzyme assays, particularly for aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl ...

Liver enzymes can fluctuate due to factors like hormonal changes or reactions to medications. Fluctuations are often temporary, but long-term changes may indicate a condition that requires medical ...

Doctors can diagnose fatty liver disease, now called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), using blood tests that measure serum liver enzyme levels. Elevated enzyme levels ...

Jay N. Yepuri, MD, MS, FACG, is a board-certified gastroenterologist and member of the Digestive Health Associates of Texas Board of Directors and Executive Committee. A liver function test checks how ...

What Is an ALT Blood Test? The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test is a blood test that checks for liver damage. ALT used to be called serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT). Your doctor can use ...