Posted: May 28, 2012 11:38 pm
Dawn wrote:Hi Chris, thanks for responding. This has been going on for awhile. The ALT wasn't that elevated, it was the alkaline phosphatase that was over 2000. The ALT has been elevated at various times and then it will go down, but it doesn't get very high - maybe only 2 or 3 times the normal amount. He has had cushing's disease ruled out. He is a bit chunky, but he has always been "wide" and the vet says it is normal for him. The vet is very weight conscious and says Charley has a wide ribcage and his weight is okay.
Ok. Sorry, I miss-read your post. Again, I don't know canine physiology, but in humans, high ALT/AST suggests hepatocellular (liver cell) damage and high Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) suggests cholestasis (bile, a product of the liver, not moving to the digestive tract normally).
If the liver biopsy appeared grossly abnormal as described then my guess at the diagnosis would be a primary biliary cirrhosis of some type:
Primary sclerosing cholangitis
Tumors (cholangiocarcinoma)
Biliary obstruction due to gallstones, bacterial infection etc. (Do dogs even have gallbladders?)
Drug/Toxin hepatotoxicity
Weird/rare causes would be autoimmune disorders:
Autoimmune cholangiopathy
Sarcoidosis
I do hope your pet pulls through, is it the little guy in your avatar?