what exactly does ALT& AST numbers mean

My doctor has told me that my hepatitis is active and took a hepatic function test and those results show normal levels.Why is this?

[IMstacie]

ALT and AST are enzymes made in the liver. The liver uses enzymes to metabolize amino acids and to make proteins.  High levels of ALT in the bloodstream mean that there may be liver inflammation and/or damage - ALT is only found in the liver.  

Although AST is found in other organs ,in addition to the liver, high AST levels in the bloodstream may be an indicator of liver trouble.

But, ALT and AST levels in people with HCV can vary over time and according to my doctor they cannot be used to measure liver damage or its progression.  

[fretboard]

What it means is you can have normal blood tests and still be HepC positive.  Ask your doctor to run a viral load test and have a liver biopsy done if you've had it for awhile.  Also you can check out this other site and read around.  good luck


http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/First_Steps.asp

[portann]

This is an interesting reversal of what often happens. Usually the liver functions will be higher than normal and that may lead to the doctor testing for Hepatitis C.

What kind of test did your doctor run to determine you have the virus and what prompted him?

There are several reasons that ALT's and AST's can be out of range and Hepatitis C is one of them. People can have the virus but still have normal liver function tests. I had mild disease and usually normal or almost normal LFT's.  I think people with very advanced liver disease also do not necessarily have out-of-range results for a different reason.

The LFT's serve as indicators but only an HCV RNA PCR can confirm the presence of the virus. Is this the test you had?