ALT – stands for alanine aminotransferase, a liver enzyme that enters the blood following liver
damage. An ALT test is used to monitor and assess the degree of liver damage in patients with hepatitis of any cause including, for example, toxins and viruses.
AST – stands for aspartate aminotransferase, a liver enzyme but less specific to the liver than ALT (see above). A raised AST level may follow a heart attack, for example.
Cholestasis – a condition where the flow of bile from the liver is reduced.
Enzyme – a substance, usually a protein, produced by the body to help speed up a chemical reaction (which can be measured with liver function tests).
Gallstones – stones formed from bile that solidifies and hardens. Most gallstones are now known to be cholesterol gallstones, formed when the liver secretes bile that is abnormally saturated with cholesterol. Other stones can be formed from bile pigment (bilirubin). Gallstones become stored in the gallbladder or can find their way to the common bile duct.
Gene – a segment of a chromosome (or unit of DNA) that carries the instructions or code for making a specific protein or set of proteins responsible for, or contributing to, a specific physical trait or action.
GGT – gamma-glutamyl transferase, a liver enzyme in your blood that is measured to check for liver damage.
Hepatic – anything relating to the liver
Hepatocyte – a liver cell.
Inflammation – the first response of the immune system to infection, commonly characterised by heat, swelling, pain and tenderness.
Intrahepatic – within the liver.
Jaundice – a condition in which the whites of the eyes go yellow and in more severe cases the skin also turns yellow. This is caused by accumulation in the blood of bilirubin, a yellow pigment and a waste product normally disposed of by the liver in bile.
Mutation – an occurrence where a gene undergoes a change or variation in the base sequence of its DNA. Some mutations result in the gene no longer coding for the correct protein, or producing a reduced amount of the protein.
Serum – more than half of your blood is made of plasma which carries the circulating blood cells and platelets. Normally clear or yellowish, serum is the liquid that separates from blood when clotting occurs. Many chemical tests are carried out using serum.