Healthy Ranges for Alanine Aminotransferase Levels
Authors: John R. Senior
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2003)

Letters21 January 2003Healthy Ranges for Alanine Aminotransferase LevelsJohn R. Senior, MDJohn R. Senior, MDU.S. Food and Drug Administration; Rockville, MD 20857 (Senior)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-138-2-200301210-00020 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:The article by Prati and colleagues on healthy ranges for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (1) and the accompanying editorial by Kaplan (2) raised points that deserve more debate. Since the seminal work of Arthur Karmen (3) initiated practical use of serum enzyme activities for detecting injury to various organs, we have learned that fatty liver may increase ALT levels, as may asymptomatic chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, even now, persons with these conditions are included in the apparently healthy sample population that is considered normal. Prati and colleagues proposed decreasing the upper limit of normal ...References1. Prati D, Taioli E, Zanella A, Della Torre E, Butelli S, Del Vecchio E, . Updated definitions of healthy ranges for serum alanine aminotransferase levels. Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:1-10. [PMID: 12093239] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Kaplan MM. Alanine aminotransferase levels: what's normal? [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:49-51. [PMID: 12093245] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Karmen A. A note on the spectrophotometric assay of glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase in human blood serum. J Clin Invest. 1955;34:131-3. MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Korones DN, Brown MR, Palis J. Liver function tests are not always tests of liver function. Am J Hematol. 2001;66:46-8. [PMID: 11426492] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Bardella MT, Fraquelli M, Quatrini M, Molteni N, Bianchi P, Conte D. Prevalence of hypertransaminasemia in adult celiac patients and effect of gluten-free diet. Hepatology. 1995;22:833-6. [PMID: 7657290] MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: John R. Senior, MDAffiliations: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Rockville, MD 20857 (Senior) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoUpdated Definitions of Healthy Ranges for Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Levels Daniele Prati , Emanuela Taioli , Alberto Zanella , Emanuela Della Torre , Sonia Butelli , Emanuela Del Vecchio , Luciana Vianello , Francesco Zanuso , Fulvio Mozzi , Silvano Milani , Dario Conte , Massimo Colombo , and Girolamo Sirchia Alanine Aminotransferase Levels: What's Normal? Marshall M. Kaplan Healthy Ranges for Alanine Aminotransferase Levels Francesco G. De Rosa , Stefano Bonora , and Giovanni Di Perri Healthy Ranges for Alanine Aminotransferase Levels Daniele Prati , Agostino Colli , and Dario Conte Metrics Cited byFactors influencing longitudinal changes of circulating liver enzyme concentrations in subjects randomized to placebo in four clinical trialsImprovement of Tobacco Cut Stem Color and Sensory Quality by Traditional Technology of Cigar 21 January 2003Volume 138, Issue 2Page: 156KeywordsAlanine aminotransferaseInfectious diseasesInfectious hepatitisLiverLiver diseasesLiver function testsMusclesRNASpecificityViremia ePublished: 21 January 2003 Issue Published: 21 January 2003 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2003 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...