Kennedys Disease Community
High AST levels?

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08-17-2007, 09:37 PM
Cam
High AST levels?
I realize that CPK levels can be high in KD; does anyone know if AST levels being elevated are part of Kennedy's?
08-18-2007, 10:12 AM
Bruce
Cam, I haven't heard of it happening. Perhaps you could check with Dr. Taylor who is on the chat today.
06-18-2012, 04:14 PM
Dan B
Hi Cam,

I suppose this answer is too late to help you very much, but maybe it will help someone else. My blood tests have shown clinically significant high levels of creatine kinase (CK or CPK), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Of the three, the CK is by far the most elevated in my case.

Of course you should check with your doctor for proper interpretation of these tests, but most commonly they are linked to liver health or muscle health.

Following data come from a scientific paper on SBMA at this link.

(Keep in mind the following units are in the metric system because the paper is Japanese, so the units won't be same as what you get from your doctor in the U.S.; but they may give you a notion of how far away from the normal range are the SBMA patients.)

CPK normal range: 45 to 245, mean value in SBMA patients: 863.5
ALT normal range: 0 to 45, mean value in SBMA patients: 52.6
AST normal range: 0 to 41, mean value in SMBA patients: 44.3

So from this study of 223 Japanese SBMA patients, you can see that the CPK is way outside the normal range, but the ALT and AST are only slightly outside. Again, be sure to check with your doctor for proper understanding and interpretation, as these tests can also indicate liver health issues along with muscle health.