elevated GGT

Posted by Lisa on June 01, 1999 at 13:36:25
Will Fiorecet cause an elevated GGT?  

Posted by lisa on June 03, 1999 at 10:20:13
Also, what is happening to the liver when the GGT is high and that is the only LFT that is abnormal.  Is it damaged?

Posted by HFHSM.D.-D.M. on June 09, 1999 at 15:35:44

Dear Lisa:
You ask a series of excellent questions.  Let me see if I can address all of them, though not necessarily in the order they were asked.  
The GGT is an enzyme or protein make by cells lining the bile ducts of the liver.  It is very sensitive to any inflammation in the liver and it can go up due to a large variety of conditions.  The possible causes of an elevated GGT is so long that it really makes little sense to go through the whole list.  What we typically do in Hepatology is to look for common causes first and to consider more unusual causes later.  
Typical things that we might do early on are to repeat the GGT.  We will look for and eliminate medication that might cause the liver to become inflamed.  Alcohol can cause the GGT to go up and you might want to figure out if you had some before the bloodwork was done.  You