Description
Alcohol abuse is an important public health problem, with major implications in patients with a pre-existing liver pathology of viral origin.
Transferrin is a serum protein that carries iron through the bloodstream to the bone marrow where red blood cells are produced as well as to the liver and spleen. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin is elevated in the blood of heavy alcoholism. After daily consumption of more than five alcoholic drinks the liver begin to create transferrin that is inadequate for the normal carbohydrate molecules. The short quantity of carbohydrates, that is the total of "carbohydrate-deficient" transferrin molecules, can be used as a marker for heavy drinking.
Elevated levels of CDT suggest recent alcohol consumption, especially if other liver-associated enzymes such as GGT are elevated. Even though recent heavy alcohol use is most commonly associated with elevated CDT, certain rare liver disorders also can cause CDT increase .
Transferrin, Carbohydrate-deficient (Alcohol Use) - Heavy alcohol use (defined as 4 or 5 beverages per day for two weeks or more) is commonly associated with elevated CDT levels as are certain liver diseases such as primary biliary cirrhosis and chronic active hepatitis and in some patients with genetic D variants of transferrin. CDT test is a blood test that measures the level of Carbohydrate-deficient Transferrin, Transferrin and % CDT levels.
Chronic alcoholism can cause fugitive change in the glycosylation pattern of transferrin and the relative amounts of disialo- and carbohydrate deficient transferrin: CDT are increased over the amount of normally glycosylated tetrasialotransferrin.
CDT; Transferrin; Percent CDT are the tests included.
Fasting preferred for the testing.
