Liver Function Tests - Related to Insulin?

I have been told by my GP that my liver function test (AST which should be 0-37 and currently reads 155) that it is a bi-product of the amount of insulin I have taken for all these years, and that it is directly related to my Humalog insulin

Can you clarify if this could be the case as other people at the Hospital were reluctant to agree with this.

thanks

Hi See below response from Prof Simon Heller from Sheffield below.

I am unaware of any evidence that slightly raised lever enzymes are due to Humalog therapy. It is absolutely untrue that AST is a bi-product of insulin. There are a number of important causes of raised liver enzymes including excess alcohol consumption, viral infections causing liver inflammation (hepatitis), some type of medication (but not insulin) and excess fatty deposits in the liver. If liver enzymes don't settle, further tests may be necessary and possible referral to a specialist

Please see reposnse form Prof. Stephanie Amiel, from King's College Hospital, London:

We do know that insulin resistance, common in Type 2 diabetes and not unknown in non-diabetes or Type 1, can be associated with abnormalities of liver function. Also note that the “normal range” is calculated statistically and 5-10% of people will always be outside it!

I don’t think the type of insulin or the length of insulin treatment is likely to be relevant. The patient may have a degree of insulin resistance – or another cause of the change.

The change is not huge. It would be best to see if it changes over time. It may just go away with repeat testing and would only be of concern I think if it steadily increases. In which case, I would advise assessment for other causes of abnormal liver function!