Celiac disease patients experience an immune system reaction where the body attacks gluten protein passing through the gut and accidentally causes damage to the cells of the intestine. For 50 percent of the people with celiac disease, this reaction to gluten can extend to the cells of the liver, causing inflammation. This results in elevated liver enzymes levels in the bloodstream. Switching to a gluten-free diet may reverse liver enzyme abnormalities.
Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is a condition where your body produces antibodies against gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The antibodies detect the gluten and activate other immune system cells to attack it. In this process, the healthy cells that line your intestine are destroyed. Some people are completely asymptomatic, while others experience diarrhea, abdominal pain, inability to absorb food and a variety of other symptoms.
Liver Enzymes
Inside the cells of your liver, there are metabolic enzymes that are crucial for your body to store and use energy. When liver cells are damaged, some of these enzymes leak out into the bloodstream. The two most common enzymes tested for are alanine aminotransferase, also called ALT, and aspartate aminotransferase, AST. Having elevated liver-enzyme tests signifies that there has been some damage to cells in your liver, allowing the enzymes to escape.
Celiac and Liver Enzymes
A review in "Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics" in 2005 looked at several studies of liver enzymes in people with celiac disease. The authors concluded that elevated liver enzymes are common in people who are diagnosed with celiac disease. Up to half of all patients with celiac disease had high AST and ALT levels. This finding suggests that something about celiac disease causes some damage to liver cells. The good news is that very few people go on to develop serious liver disease.
Treatment
If you have high liver enzymes and celiac disease, there is good news. Treating your celiac disease by eating a gluten-free diet should cause your liver enzymes to return to normal. If you have celiac disease and are completely avoiding gluten but your liver enzymes remain elevated, it is likely that another process is damaging the liver. Be sure to discuss the management of your celiac disease and your liver enzyme levels with your doctor.
