Use of Enzymes for the Diagnosis of Alcohol-Related Organ Damage

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Abstract
Elevated levels of serum enzymes are frequently associated not only with alcohol- related organ damage but also with excessive alcohol consumption and alcoholism without significant tissue injury. However, both in the early detection of alcoholism as well as also in the diagnosis of alcohol-related diseases the sensitivities and specificities of these enzyme markers vary considerably. They may be influenced by nonalcohol-related diseases, enzyme-inducing drugs, nutritional factors, metabolic disorders, age, smoking, etc. Consequently, we have neither a single laboratory test - enzyme marker - nor a test combination that is reliable enough for the exact diagnosis between alcohol- and nonalcohol-related organ damage. In most cases it is possible to determine the tissue from which the elevated enzyme is derived, but only occasionally enzyme changes reflect the quantity of the tissue injury. Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is the most widely used laboratory marker of alcoholism and heavy drinking, detecting 34-85% of problem drinkers and alcoholics. However, the unspecificity of increased serum GGT limits its use for general screening purposes. Its value in the follow-up of various treatment programs, however, is well established. An elevated level of serum aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) in an alcoholic or a heavy consumer indicates alcohol-induced organ damage. The use of test combinations significantly improves the information received with single serum enzyme determinations. An ASAT/ALAT ratio greater than 1.5 can be considered as highly suggestive for the alcoholic etiology of the liver injury. Still better discrimination between alcoholic and nonalcoholic origin of the liver disease may be achieved by the determination of the ratio of GGT to alkaline phosphatase. If this ratio exceeds 1.4 the specificity of the finding in favor for alcoholic liver injury is 78%.

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