Elevated liver enzymes, according to the Mayo Clinic, can indicate a problem with inflammation or cellular damage in the liver. When the liver is damaged or inflamed, cells will emit a higher amount of certain chemicals, including liver enzymes, into the blood stream. In most cases, an increase in liver enzymes is temporary and can be monitored through a liver function test.
Causes
There are a myriad of reasons why you might have a elevated liver enzyme count. These can be detected by a physician based on medications you are already taking, symptoms and tests. The most common causes of an elevated liver enzyme count are cholesterol and pain relief medications, hepatitis, obesity and non-alcohol related fatty liver disease. Some of the less-common causes of elevated liver enzyme include alcoholic or autoimmune hepatitis, celiac disease, cirrhosis of the liver, Epstein-Barr virus, inflammation of the gallbladder, heart attack, hypothyroidism, liver cancer, glandular fever and muscular dystrophy.
Symptoms
Because there are so many causes for an elevated liver enzyme count, there are a plethora of symptoms that can coincide with the condition. Typically, if the problem is liver-related, there are certain things you can look for. When the liver is damaged and not doing its job, substances build up in the blood and result in itching, a condition known as pruritis. Jaundice of the skin, where the skin turns yellow, is another symptom associated with liver disease or damage. Jaundice may be accompanied by dark-colored urine and light-color stools.
Liver Function Test
A qualified physician should be able to diagnose your problem based on a basic test of liver function. The test checks to see how much albumin protein the liver is producing and whether it's doing an effective job of cleaning the blood of a waste product called bilirubin. Other tests can be run that don't necessarily deal with liver function but measure the amount of enzymes being released by the liver to treat damage and disease.
