Can Dogs With Food Allergies Have Increased Liver Enzymes?

Food allergies in dogs can cause inflammation and liver damage, leading to high enzyme levels. Common allergens include wheat, corn, soy, and dairy, which trigger an immune response in sensitive dogs. Certain medications, especially when used in conjunction with toxins, cushion disease, diabetes, and mold on food, can also cause liver enzyme elevation. High carbohydrate diets in dogs are more at risk of developing liver disease and elevated enzyme levels. Aflatoxins (AF) found in food have been associated with increased biomarkers in liver function and oxidative stress. High liver enzymes in dogs can indicate various conditions, such as excessive histamine levels, which overwhelm the liver’s detoxification pathways, leading to inflammation and oxidative stress. Common causes of elevated liver enzymes in dogs include medications like prednisone, Cushing’s disease, liver inflammation like hepatitis, and blood tests that can indicate elevated liver enzymes and other potential liver damage. Diagnosing liver disease is crucial as blood tests can indicate elevated liver enzymes and other potential liver damage.

Can digestive issues cause elevated liver enzymes?

The increased prevalence of elevated ALT in IBS patients may be due to several possible explanations. Previous studies have reported higher prevalences of altered gut microbiota and SIBO, which are associated with altered tight junction and increased gut permeability, which are related to hepatic function and severity of hepatic steatosis. A recent study showed that intestinal permeability is greater in patients with IBS, suggesting that IBS itself could cause elevated liver enzymes.

A pathogenic role for altered gut microbiota in IBS patients with hepatitis would be strongly supported by increased intestinal permeability and increased levels of endotoxin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. The activation of Kupffer cells by gut-derived endotoxins induces an increase in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide-related substances that may lead to liver damage. When liver injury occurs, ALT that is mainly aggregated in the cytosol of the hepatocyte is released from injured liver cells and causes a significant elevation in serum ALT activity.

Further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis, as no previous study has investigated the relationship between liver enzymes and IBS in humans. Few epidemiological studies have assessed the relationship between IBS status and MS in an adult population, and the underlying causes of pathophysiologic changes are still not completely understood. However, several in vitro studies have proposed different mechanisms to explain the lipid-lowering effects of intestinal bacteria, such as specific strains of Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium, in humans. These mechanisms include the physiological action of major end-products of probiotic fermentation (short-chain fatty acids), cholesterol assimilation by bacteria, enzymatic deconjugation of bile acids, and the binding of cholesterol to the bacterial cell wall.

A recent animal study suggested a possible mechanism by which the gut microbial community can contribute to obesity. Bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) derived from gram-negative bacteria residing in the intestinal tract may act as a triggering factor, linking inflammation to high-fat diet-induced MS. Understanding the mechanisms by which alteration in the gut microbiota produces different signaling activations and phenotype changes may offer an interesting opportunity for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Can food allergies raise liver enzymes?

Lindberg et al. conducted a study on 180 children with suspected malabsorption, finding that 96 children with elevated aminotransferases were diagnosed with celiac disease, milk protein, or multiple protein allergy. The study found that mucosal damage is associated with the elevation of aminotransferases, not exclusively due to gluten exposure. However, the results were limited, as no other causes were ruled out.

A study on small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) was conducted to determine the prevalence of SIBO in celiac disease patients who were unresponsive to GFD, symptomatic, or asymptomatic on GFD. SIBO was found in 11 of patients unresponsive to GFD and 11 symptomatic, while none were found in the asymptomatic group. No serologic difference was found between patients with and without SIBO, and serum aminotransferases were not measured.

The pathogenesis behind extraintestinal manifestations of celiac disease is still not entirely understood, but it is thought to be due to autoantibodies targeting transglutaminase 2 (TG2). Karponay-Szabo et al. performed a study to detect IgA against intestinal and extraintestinal tissues by immunofluorescence, finding IgA deposition on extracellularly located TG2 in jejunal and extrajejunal specimens of all celiac patients. Overexpression of TG2 in liver causing deposition of IgA antibodies could potentially explain liver damage in celiac disease patients, but it would not explain why some patients have elevated aminotransferases and others do not.

Does inflammation raise liver enzymes?

Elevated liver enzymes often are a sign of inflamed or damaged cells in the liver. Inflamed or injured liver cells leak higher levels of certain chemicals into the bloodstream. These chemicals include liver enzymes that may appear higher than usual on blood tests.

Can you have high liver enzymes and nothing be wrong?

Elevated liver enzymes might be found during routine blood testing. In most cases, liver enzymes are only mildly raised for a short time. This usually doesn’t signal a chronic, serious liver problem.

Can a dog recover from high liver enzymes?

ALT, the most liver-specific liver enzyme, is found in the cytosol of hepatocytes and is released with increased cell membrane permeability or cell death. It is considered a sensitive and specific marker of liver injury, and severe ALT increases don’t necessarily mean irreversible disease. In dogs, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) is found in both the mitochondria and cytosol of hepatocytes, and is mainly found in the mitochondria. Increases in AST parallel those in ALT, but muscle disease can increase serum AST activity. AST is considered less liver-specific than ALT and is often removed from basic chemistry panels at Texas A and M.

ALP, the least liver-specific and most commonly elevated liver enzyme, causes problems in dogs due to its association with various forms of ALP isoenzymes. Some of these isoforms are not measured by the assay, but they have a trivial contribution to the overall activity of ALP in the serum. In the liver, ALP is bound to the membranes of hepatocytes that form the bile canaliculi and sinusoidal membranes. In cholestasis, the membrane-bound ALP is released into circulation and the synthesis of this enzyme is induced. ALP is considered a sensitive marker of cholestasis in dogs, but because of other isoenzymes, it is not liver-specific.

In summary, liver enzymes like ALT, AST, and ALP play crucial roles in diagnosing liver conditions. While some enzymes may be more liver-specific than others, their role in determining liver damage and regenerative capacity remains a topic of interest.

Can emotional stress cause elevated liver enzymes?

The psychiatric influence of stress is garnering more attention in medical practice. Clinical cases with elevated liver enzymes without any known causes are often observed. Obviously, stress response could be a possible reason, which has been overlooked so far. We hope that the present review boosts future studies addressing the entire molecular mechanisms for the stress‐induced hepatic damage or stress‐associated influence on liver disorders.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. There are no conflicts of interests.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. This research was supported by Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Oriental Medicine Scientific Project (K16840), and by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF‐2018R1A6A1A03025221).

Can poor diet cause elevated liver enzymes?

Since excess alcohol can be the culprit behind rising liver enzymes, it’s the first thing many doctors focus on. A steady diet of Bloody Mary, whiskey or beer puts stress on a liver and causes it to become fatty. Eventually, continued damage can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure.

Yet researchers are finding that a steady diet of fast food, sugary soft drinks and artery-clogging saturated fat can elevate liver enzymes and damage the liver, too.

And while this non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can be caused by any number of different ailments, scientists suggest that obesity, unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles are probably behind the high prevalence of the disease. Estimates from the American Liver Foundation suggest that more than 20 percent of the population has NAFLD.

An extreme example of this diet-liver damage connection is seen in the 2004 documentary Super Size Me. In a self-inflicted experiment, director Morgan Spurlock spends one month eating every meal at McDonald’s and not exercising. No surprise, he gains 24 pounds, hikes his cholesterol level 65 points and damages his liver. “My liver basically turned to fat,” Spurlock told CBS News. “It was so filled with fat the doctors said it was like paté; it was reaching a toxic level, putting me at risk of having non-alcoholic type of hepatitis, hardening of the liver, cirrhosis.”

Can anxiety cause elevated liver enzymes in dogs?

The short answer is yes — stress and anxiety can possibly cause elevated levels of liver-produced enzymes. There’s some evidence of liver injury in times of stress, so it’s important to understand how liver enzymes work.

What exactly are liver enzymes? What do they do, and how can we ensure they stay within healthy ranges?

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Can allergies cause high ALT in dogs?

A study comparing the concentrations of biomarkers of allergy, inflammation, endothelial glycocalyx shedding, coagulation, and hepatopathy in dogs with anaphylaxis after suspected insect exposure, critical illness, and healthy dogs was conducted. The study included 25 dogs with anaphylaxis, 30 dogs with other critical illness, and 20 healthy dogs. Differences across groups in biomarker concentrations were tested using one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test, with significant P values (post-hoc tests). Logistic regression models were used to calculate the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) for discrimination between anaphylaxis and non-anaphylactic illness.

Results showed that histamine concentration was significantly higher in the anaphylaxis group than the healthy group, and CCL2 concentrations were significantly higher in the anaphylaxis group. Only dogs with anaphylaxis had significantly higher hyaluronan and ALT concentrations, and lower PC and AT activities compared to healthy dogs. Both CRP and histamine concentration showed good discrimination between anaphylaxis and other critical illness, with an AUROC of 0. 96 and 0. 81, respectively.

Can ALT levels return to normal in dogs?

The serum half-life of ALT is less than 24 hours. Levels peak two to three days after hepatic insult and return to normal in one to three weeks if hepatic insult resolves. A persistent increase indicates continuing hepatocellular insult. ALT levels may also be moderately increased in animals on anticonvulsant therapy and glucocorticoids and with biliary stasis.

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP). ALP is bound to membranes of bile canaliculi and bile ducts. Values are increased by any condition causing cholestasis, either intra- or extra-hepatic. Cholestasis results in increased synthesis and regurgitation of the enzyme from the biliary system into the serum.

Isoenzymes. Other isoenzymes of ALP are also found in bone, intestine, kidney tubules and the placenta. However, the half-life of the intestinal, renal and placental isoenzymes are so short (two to six minutes) that serum elevations of ALP would rarely occur from these organs. Usually an elevation in ALP is due to hepatic or bone isoenzymes. However, exogenous and endogenous glucocorticoids can induce a specific isoenzyme and thus result in elevated serum levels in the dog (but not in the cat). The value in measuring the ALP isoenzyme in the diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism is highly questionable as the isoenzyme is increased by hepatic pathology as well as hyperadrenocorticism.