title: Severely elevated transaminases in an adolescent male with anorexia nervosa.
abstract: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious disorder that is associated with numerous medical complications and affects both females and males. Severely elevated transaminases have been reported in adult and younger females. We report the first case of elevated transaminases in an adolescent male with AN. The pathophysiologic mechanism of severely elevated serum transaminases observed in malnourished adolescent males with AN is complex and appears to be multifactorial. We present the first case of an adolescent male with AN who developed severely elevated serum transaminases that normalized with improved nutrition and weight gain. Liver injury in patients with AN is a complex medical complication that appears to be multifactorial in origin. In this case, starvation-induced autophagy in the human liver was considered one of the most likely mechanisms to explain hepatocytic injury in this patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Ryan W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Chana
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Korenblum
authors.forename: Kunal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thacker
authors.forename: Herbert Joey
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Bonifacio
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gonska
authors.forename: Debra K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Katzman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D001343:Autophagy; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000503:physiopathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase
keywords: alanine transaminase; anorexia nervosa; aspartate aminotransferase; autophagy; elevated transaminases; malnutrition