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Albumin levels are decreased in chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis. It is also decreased in nephrotic syndrome, where it is lost through the urine. The consequence of low albumin can be edema since the intravascular oncotic pressure becomes lower than the extravascular space. An alternative to albumin measurement is prealbumin, which is ...
Significantly elevated levels of ALT (SGPT) often suggest the existence of other medical problems such as viral hepatitis, diabetes, congestive heart failure, liver damage, bile duct problems, infectious mononucleosis, or myopathy, so ALT is commonly used as a way of screening for liver problems.
Concentrations below the reference range usually reflect low albumin concentration, for instance in liver disease or acute infection. Rarely, low total protein may be a sign of immunodeficiency. Concentrations above the reference range are found in paraproteinaemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukaemia or any condition causing an increase in ...
The level of total bilirubin is often further increased if the blood sample is taken after fasting for two days, [40] and a fast can, therefore, be useful diagnostically. A further conceptual step that is rarely necessary or appropriate is to give a low dose of phenobarbital: [41] the bilirubin will decrease substantially.
These levels previously were called serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) and serum glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT). Elevated levels are sensitive for liver injury, meaning that they are likely to be present if there is injury.
The proportion of AST to ALT in hepatocytes is about 2.5:1, but because AST is removed from serum by the liver sinusoidal cells twice as quickly (serum half-life t 1/2 = 18 hr) compared to ALT (t 1/2 = 36 hr), so the resulting serum levels of AST and ALT are about equal in healthy individuals, resulting in a normal AST/ALT ratio around 1.
For most substances presented, the optimal levels are the ones normally found in the population as well. More specifically, optimal levels are generally close to a central tendency of the values found in the population. However, usual and optimal levels may differ substantially, most notably among vitamins and blood lipids, so these tables give ...
[citation needed] For example, the presence of elevated transaminases can be an indicator of liver and cardiac damage. Two important transaminase enzymes are aspartate transaminase (AST), also known as serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT); and alanine transaminase (ALT), also called alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) or serum glutamate ...