Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype and precore and basal core promoter (BCP) mutants in the patients with persistently normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and low serum HBV-DNA levels are unclear. The aim of this study was to determine HBV genotypes, precore and BCP mutations, and their association with chronic hepatitis and liver fibrosis in HBV-infected patients with persistently normal ALT, ...

PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the effect of lifestyle intervention on NAFLD. METHODS The clinical data of 86 children diagnosed with NAFLD were reviewed retrospectively. Forty-six patients belonged to the elevated ALT group and 40 to the normal ALT g...

Liver stiffness was measured by transient elastography (FibroScan) in 228 consecutive patients with chronic viral hepatitis, with (115) or without cirrhosis (113), to study its correlations with serum transaminases [alanine aminotransferase (ALT)], fibrosis stage and surrogate noninvasive markers of fibrosis (APRI, FORNS, FibroTest and hyaluronic acid). The dynamic profiles of serum transaminas...

Several studies suggest that a substantial number of patients with normal serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, defined by current thresholds, have ongoing hepatic necro-inflammation and fibrosis, and are at risk of liver disease progression. A major problem lies in the definition of normality. The current upper limit of normal (ULN) for ALT was established in the 1980s when reference po...

BACKGROUND Raised serum alanine aminotransferase (serum ALT) levels indicate active liver disease while liver biopsy has been considered the 'gold standard' for assessing the severity of disease in patients of chronic Hepatitis C. The response of these patients to standard treatment regimen of interferon (INF)-alpha-2b and ribavirin for 24 weeks have been studied. OBJECTIVE The objective of t...

Ten patients with severe chronic type B hepatitis confirmed by liver biopsy were treated with prednisolone for eight weeks and followed up for more than one year. The patients were comprised of 6 males and 4 females, ages 17 to 45 (mean 32) yrs. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was elevated more than one month before the treatment in all (mean: 379 U/L, range: 87 to 772 U/L). Initial serolo...

or discontinue AZA/MTX had been made at consultant level, despite previous reports that transaminase elevations may be found in myositis [2–4] and other muscle diseases [4–6]. Transaminases are important intracellular components of metabolic function in many cells, including those of muscle, and elevated ALT levels may reflect transaminase leakage into the bloodstream, due to myofibrillar damag...

PURPOSE To quantify the changes of hemoglobin mass (Hbmass) and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) after 22 days training at 1300-1800 m combined with nightly exposure to 3000-m simulated altitude. We hypothesized that with simulated 3000-m altitude, an adequate beneficial dose could be as little as 10 h/24 h. METHODS Fourteen male collegiate runners were equally divided into 2 groups: altit...

AIMS To assess the place of AST/ALT ratio (the ratio of serum aspartate aminotransferase to serum alanine aminotransferase) as a diagnostic marker in medical populations. METHODS Laboratory tests were viewed retrospectively in three groups of patients: 313 patients with alcohol dependence, consecutively admitted to an alcohol and drug treatment unit for treatment of withdrawal (W) symptoms, 7...