If your liver is not functioning well, you will not notice this for a long time. Symptoms and complaints that may indicate an abnormality in the liver often resemble everyday symptoms and complaints. In many cases, liver disease only occurs after serious damage has already occurred. An abnormality is therefore often only discovered late - too late, in some cases.
Symptoms that may occur with liver disease include swelling of the liver, jaundice, and fatigue.
The liver is essential for our health and it has important functions:
To detect liver problems at an early stage, it is advisable to have your liver function checked. Liver problems increase the risk of liver disease and cardiovascular disease.
This test gives you insight into your liver function. To provide an indication of your liver function, tests assess the following markers:
It is completely anonymous;
You can always come to us:
You do not have to go directly to a healthcare provider;
The test is as reliable as the one used in hospitals;
Our clinical chemist will assess your results and give you tailored advice;
ALT (alanine aminotransferase) is a liver enzyme that is measured to diagnose liver disease. An enzyme is a protein that converts one substance into another. This happens when alcohol or medicines are broken down, for example. ALT is mainly present in the liver, but is also found in small amounts in muscles, the kidneys and heart. When liver cells become damaged, ALT leaks from the liver into the blood. This causes an increase in the concentration of ALT in the blood. This can happen before there are any signs or symptoms that may indicate liver damage. Since ALT is primarily present in the liver, it is the most specific marker to identify possible damage to liver cells.
Gamma-glutamyltransferase (Gamma-GT or GGT) is an enzyme made in the liver that helps convert certain amino acids (such as AST and ALT). Gamma-GT is also present in the kidneys, pancreas, spleen, heart and brain. Normally the concentration of Gamma-GT in the blood is very low, but when the liver is having to work hard, the amount can rise considerably. This happens when many substances arrive in the liver for processing in a short period of time, for example due to (extreme) use of alcohol or medicines.
The most common causes of liver disease are:
The liver has a large reserve capacity: if one part of the liver is not working properly, another part can work harder to make up for the shortfall without too much effort. The disadvantage of this is that liver problems are often only discovered at a more advanced stage.
Liver problems can involve various diseases:
The Liver Function test that we offer at How Are You Diagnostics is the same laboratory test that is also performed by hospital laboratories.
We distinguish ourselves by offering the majority of our tests via a self-test kit. This means that you can have our tests delivered to any postal address, after which you can take the sample for the chosen test yourself at any time. So you can take your sample at home, just like with a self-test/home test.
For some markers you can also buy a self-test at the drugstore or pharmacy. For these, you put a drop of blood on a special strip and the result is displayed immediately. The self-test gives you an impression of the level of the marker in the blood.
With a self-test you have to interpret the result yourself, which is difficult if you are not qualified to do this like a clinical chemist. It is more reliable to perform the test in a laboratory with the appropriate equipment and have the result determined by a clinical chemist.
Similar tests from your GP or hospital are often twice as expensive. You also have to make an appointment and go to the appointment to do a blood test
Wij hebben speciale thuis testen ontwikkeld zodat jij ze gemakkelijk thuis, op ieder gewenst moment, kunt uitvoeren. Het geeft snel zekerheid en helpt belangrijke vragen te beantwoorden.
Om de test uit te voeren maakt u gebruik van onze How Are You Diagnostics App. Deze App is te downloaden in de App Store en de Google Play Store. Hierin maakt u een persoonlijk account aan, koppelt u de test aan uw account en wordt u stap voor stap uitgelegd hoe u de test uitvoert. Verstuur de test en ontvang het resultaat in uw persoonlijke account van onze beveiligde App. Het is niet mogelijk om het testresultaat te ontvangen zonder het gebruik van de App.
Verstuur de test zo snel mogelijk na afname; dit kan gratis via een reguliere PostNL brievenbus.
De testen van How Are You Diagnostics worden geanalyseerd in ons eigen ISO 15189 en NEN 7510 gecertificeerde laboratorium en beoordeeld door onze eigen specialisten (klinisch chemicus).
Tijdens het gehele proces gaan we vertrouwelijk met uw gegevens om. Na ontvangst in het laboratorium ontvangt u binnen 5 werkdagen de resultaten in de App. U ontvangt een melding als het resultaat beschikbaar is.
Inhoud van de test:
De afname instructies zijn te vinden in de How Are You Diagnostics App.
Testen in vier stappen: