LFT(liver function test)?!
Question: Is LFT enough to observe the health of liver including proteins,faulty genes,enzymy activity or some of the genes produced are not covered in LFT?
Suggestions are appreciated !!
Answers: Is LFT enough to observe the health of liver including proteins,faulty genes,enzymy activity or some of the genes produced are not covered in LFT?
Suggestions are appreciated !!
There are many things that can determine
how the liver is doing:
(1) the Liver function tests show how the
cells of the liver are performing the functions the liver does to keep the body
in a healthy state. This includes the
Bilirubin, INR, and Albumin
(2) The liver enzymes can show if there
is a problem with the liver cells as far
as damage or inflammation is concerned or
a problem with the biliary area leading out
of the liver. This is usually the ALT, AST,
and Alkaline phosphatase
(3) The testing to see if a virus has entered
the body and is replicating for hepatitis
A,B,C, etc and to see how much is in
the blood is another way.
The problem with this, is that the liver
doesn't show much as far as signs or
symptoms until the cells are damaged and
can no longer perform their functions and
in some people not even then. People
can have cirrhosis of the liver and not know
it until their liver is in failure because of this.
Liver disease is caused by many different
things and it has to be checked to find
the cause before it can be treated:
Alcohol consumption, medication toxification, chemical exposure, mushroom
poisoning, hereditary conditions where the
body retains iron or copper, auto immune
disease, fatty liver which may or may not
be caused by either alcohol or weight,
viral or bacterial infections like Hep A, B, C,
etc, biliary obstruction or malformation, etc.
IT all depends on the cause whether the
problem with the liver can be reversed.
Liver disease usually starts out as
inflammation of the liver cells which will
cause the liver to enlarge in size. This
can be checked by the doctor when he
examines you on the table...he can sometimes feel this enlargement. The
next thing, outside of blood work, is
an ultrasound or Ct scan to see if it is
definitely enlarged..the blood flowing through the liver, and the appearance of
the liver. If the inflammation is not
treated and the cause of it is not able
to be removed...it can lead to death of
the liver cells and in this case, scar tissue
will form inside the liver...the liver will
shrink in size because of this and the
new cells that are trying to regenerate will
bunch up against the scar tissue and bulge
outward..giving the appearance of the
liver being lumpy because of nodules forming. This is usually advance stages of
this disease. They do have tests where
they take a sample now of your breath,
but the very best test to see exactly what
is going on with the liver is a liver biopsy.
It is the best test as they can see a true
sample of the liver tissue and not just
photographs.
I hope this information is of some help to
you. The liver biopsy usually is the
last resort since it is invasive. They
sedate the patient if you ask and it only
takes a very short amount of time to
do if it is done through the side as they
use a spring loaded needle in most cases.
Aside from liver function test...... MRI and CT scan can be also helpful in observing the health of liver including proteins,faulty genes,enzymy activity....
Hope it was helpful......