What diseases can cause elevated transaminase levels in the human body?

Elevated transaminase levels in the body are generally associated with diseases such as fatty liver, drug-induced liver injury, alcoholic hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and cholestatic hepatitis. Detailed explanations are as follows:

1. Fatty Liver

Fatty liver mainly results from factors such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, which lead to excessive accumulation of fat in the liver. The excessive fat accumulation within hepatocytes compresses liver cells, affecting their normal metabolism and function, causing liver cell damage, increasing cell membrane permeability, and resulting in the release of intracellular transaminases into the bloodstream, thus elevating transaminase levels. Patients commonly experience fatigue, mild pain in the upper right abdomen, abdominal distension, and loss of appetite.

2. Drug-Induced Liver Injury

Certain drugs produce metabolites during their metabolism in the body that are toxic to hepatocytes, leading to drug-induced liver injury. These toxic metabolites directly damage cellular organelles and hepatocyte membranes, disrupting normal liver cell function and causing intracellular transaminases to leak into the bloodstream, thereby increasing transaminase levels. In addition to elevated transaminases, patients may experience drug allergy symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, rash, and itching, or manifestations of liver damage such as jaundice and hepatic pain.

3. Alcoholic Hepatitis

Long-term heavy alcohol consumption is the main cause of alcoholic hepatitis. Alcohol causes inflammation and damage to hepatocytes, increasing the permeability of hepatocyte membranes and resulting in the release of intracellular transaminases into the bloodstream, causing elevated transaminase levels. Patients typically experience hepatic pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, jaundice, and possibly fever, along with a history of long-term alcohol consumption.

4. Autoimmune Hepatitis

Autoimmune hepatitis mainly results from immune system dysfunction in the body, leading to the production of autoantibodies targeting hepatocytes. These autoantibodies bind to antigens on the surface of hepatocytes, activating immune cells to attack the hepatocytes, causing inflammation and damage, which leads to the release of intracellular transaminases into the bloodstream, resulting in elevated transaminase levels. Patients often feel fatigued and may develop symptoms such as joint pain, rash, and fever. This disease is more commonly seen in women.

5. Cholestatic Hepatitis

Cholestatic hepatitis mainly occurs due to obstruction of intrahepatic or extrahepatic bile ducts, such as from gallstones, bile duct inflammation, pancreatic head cancer, and other conditions that impair bile excretion, causing bile stasis in the liver. Bile stasis causes bile acids and other components to damage hepatocyte membranes and organelles, leading to liver cell injury and the release of transaminases into the bloodstream, thereby increasing transaminase levels. Patients mainly present with jaundice, skin itching, and possibly pain in the upper right abdomen.

When elevated transaminase levels are detected, timely medical consultation and comprehensive examinations are necessary to determine the underlying cause, followed by targeted treatment under a physician's guidance. At the same time, maintaining healthy lifestyle habits and dietary patterns can help reduce the burden on the liver and promote recovery.