You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase is an enzyme which may be useful in the early detection of acute proximal renal tubular damage

One of the clinical aims in screening geriatric animals is to detect subclinical disease so that early intervention can be implemented. Diagnostic tests that might act as early markers of subclinical disease are therefore very important, and one such example is the enzyme Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. This enzyme is mainly active in the kidney and renal injury increases it's concentrations in the urine, but not in the bloodstream. So, elevated urine concentrations of Gamma-GT may be useful in identifying acute proximal renal tubular damage in geriatrics before clinical signs are evident. It may prove to be a useful screening test following the administration of a general anaesthetic to older animals when they may be at risk to develop acute renal failure.

However GGT is released from any damaged cell in which it is stored, so conditions that affect the liver, kidneys, or pancreas and cause cellular destruction demonstrate elevated GGT levels and further clinical studies are necessary to determine the real value of this test. 

Last updated : January 2016