If ALT level is above normal range for longer than 3 months, it is considered to be chronic liver disease, where the liver is under constant injury, and treatment is required in order to prevent more serious liver diseases like: fibrosis, cirrhosis or liver cancer. If the ALT level is elevated in short term (less than 1 month), it is not considered to be a problem as the liver will be able to heal back itself.īut if the elevated ALT is longer than 1 month, this indicates a problem in the liver, which could be fatty liver, hepatitis, alcohol liver disease, etc. Our liver is very forgiving and has a great self-repairing ability. And it is normal for our body to have a small amount of ALT in the bloodstream, therefore the normal range of ALT is 10-40 units per litre. Alcohol, medication, fat, heavy metals, or even excessive amount of meat intake.

When is treatment needed for elevated ALT level?ĭifferent substances can causes damages to liver cells and elevated ALT level, i.e. Therefore an elevated ALT level simply means liver damage, the higher ALT number indicates more severe damage to the liver.

This range might vary according to different countries or laboratories, but the upper limit is usually between 35-40. Normal ALT values are around 10-40 units per litre. The level of ALT is the primary indicator of liver health as this type of enzyme are only mainly found in liver cells. And when the liver cells is damaged, ALT enzymes are released into the bloodstream, therefore we are able to find out the level of liver function from a liver function blood test (LFTs). When the balloon is damaged, the air will be released. You can imagine each liver cells as a balloon, and the ALT enzymes are the air inside the balloon. When the liver cells are functioning normally, the ALT enzymes should be contained within the liver cells. ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase / SGPT) is a type of enzyme found in liver cells.

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