Why are my dog's liver enzymes elevated? Is his liver function normal?

I assume when you say liver enzymes you mean ALT? There a few enzymes we look at and elevation in 1 value makes us consider different causes then elevation in another. ALT elevation is caused make liver cell injury and leakage of enzymes in to the bloodstream. As the liver sees all the blood of the body it can be quite a reactive organ. So the question is whether the liver enzyme is up because of something wrong with the liver/vessels to liver themselves (such as an infectious or inflammatory cause (hepatitis) or a shunt (more common in younger dogs)) or something the liver is responding too (toxicity, disease of over organs). Unfortunately all parts of sago palm are toxic to dogs with the seeds (nuts) being most toxic. And it can be quite challenging to know if this is the cause. If it is sago it depends on the degree of ingestion as to how severe the case is. Unfortunately the treatment for this is supportive as you have been doing. The values may continue to increase or hopefully may plateau off and remain mildly elevated or decrease again. Ultrasound will help to rule out other things going on in the abdomen, assess the liver for changes in texture (although a liver can appear normal on an ultrasound and not be functionally normal), and sometimes identify a portosystemic shunt. After the ultrasound then sampling either first by fine needle aspirate or with a biopsy (needed for many cases of hepatitis, some other issues) can be performed. Checking platelets and clotting times should be performed prior to liver sampling in patients whose livers are not normal to decrease the risk of bleeding from sampling. As shunts are more common in younger animals , if this is suspected, additional imaging may be recommended prior to sampling as ultrasound will not identify all shunts. There is also a disorder called microvascular dysplasia that can be found in the liver. This is best diagnosed by liver biopsy and the sample sent to a pathologist who specializes in liver pathology. I hope this has helped and not confused you more. It sounds like your vet has taken the appropriate steps thus far and has recommended the next best steps to try to rule out some other causes. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. ALT is an enzyme that is released when liver cells are damaged. The normal values are usually less than 100. Unfortunately, the presence of the enzyme does not indicate the cause or reversibility of the damage, nor does it tell us if this is recent, but temporary damage, or on-going problems with the liver. Toxins, including plants, medications, such as steroids, viruses, & endocrine diseases can all cause increases in ALT. If Kobee is not having any problems, then I would recommend retesting in 6 weeks. If Kobee is sick, there are many more diagnostic tests that can be conducted to try & get to the cause of the problem. Often, we actually never find this out, & dogs do very, very well with moderately elevated values. We actually do not even get concerned until the values are at least 3xs normal, or there are other parameters that are abnormal. If Kobee is well, then all I might recommend is discussing with your vet about putting him on a neutroceutical called Denamarin. It can help with oxidative changes in the liver. I hope he does well. Take care.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Abnormal liver enzymes typically indicate a more acute injury, and can actually return to normal as conditions become more chronic. Fluid build up can be due to low proteins in the blood, which are not being made by the liver or lost through the intestines or kidney. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have, or take a look at any results you have from Kimi.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Elevated liver enzymes and abnormal liver appearance on ultrasound scan does not necessary mean liver tumour or liver failure. Older dogs often have abnormal liver appearance, which is not related to any serious underlying problem. Liver enzymes level is a measure of 'damage' to liver cells but it is not directly related to prognosis. Again, older dogs often have mild elevation of liver enzymes I would think that the specialist will perform full abdominal scan and possibly take liver samples through a needle - this is commonly performed procedure in dogs with signs of liver disease. Based on the findings of the aspirate, the doctor will recommend further testing or prescribe treatment for Mars.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. First of all, each lab company/machine has its own “normal” ranges so I cannot exactly interpret this. But I will say, compared to the reference ranges I am used to, these are all pretty mild elevations. Unfortunately livers elevations can be mildly or moderately elevated for about a dozen reasons including: gastrointestinal upset, trauma to the liver area, toxin, infection, inflammation, cancer and more. I usually do not put much significance on them or draw any conclusions from them unless I see them trending upward with time or at a very high level. An antibiotic and liver supplement are a great place to start for these non specific signs and mild elevations in my opinion. If that it not improving things, consider an abdominal ultrasound or X-rays. Best wishes to you and Gizmo.

I would strongly recommend to have his bile acids ran to see if his liver is functioning properly. I would also recommend to have an abdominal ultrasound with possibly liver biopsies by an experience ultrasonographer or radiologist so you can find out more information about his liver. This could be due to a toxin that you are unaware of, copper storage disease, cancer, a bacterial infection or something else. I think more diagnostics need to be done to determine the cause and therefore the best treatment for him. I hope this helps!

Those increases mean the cells of the liver are leaking those enzymes at an abnormally high rate. This could mean liver damage from a toxin, an infection, drugs and/or trauma like from a car. Depending on how high they are increased it may be a normala variant from the average or it may be something more serious. These tests aren't great indicators of liver function. Values such as protein level, glucose, blood urea nitrogen and special tests like bile acids are better indicators of function. It may be more beneficial for you to post a consultation request that allows more back and forth questions and answers specific to Bruno's case.