Ezetimibe - A clinically effective and a cost-effective treatment option for dyslipidaemia

Although statins are first-line treatment for most patients with dyslipidaemia, some people require additional or alternative treatment to modify their lipid profile. Many patients treated with statins still fail to achieve increasingly stringent LDL-C goals in clinical practice, and can benefit from add-on ezetimibe therapy, which has a complementary mechanism of action to other drugs in current use. Many clinical studies have demonstrated that combinations of ezetimibe with statins, fibrates, and other lipid-modifying therapies, provide better normalisation of lipid profiles than these drugs given as monotherapy. Moreover, ezetimibe is also effective as a monotherapy. The safety and tolerability profile of ezetimibe as monotherapy is similar to placebo, and is also excellent when given in combination with other lipid-modifying agents. Ezetimibe may also provide a cost-effective alternative to statin titration. These findings suggest that ezetimibe represents a useful alternative and adjunct to other lipid management strategies. © 2008 CSF Medical Communications Ltd.