Efficacy and Safety of Pitavastatin/Ezetimibe Fixed-Dose Combination vs. Pitavastatin: Phase III, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Aim: We compared the efficacy and safety of pitavastatin/ezetimibe fixed-dose combination with those of pitavastatin monotherapy in patients with hypercholesterolemia.

Methods: This trial was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, parallel-group trial. A total of 293 patients were randomly assigned into four groups receiving 2 mg pitavastatin, 4 mg pitavastatin, 2 mg pitavastatin/10 mg ezetimibe (K-924 LD), and 4 mg pitavastatin/10 mg ezetimibe (K-924 HD) once daily for 12 weeks.

A novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay specific for high-molecular-weight adiponectin.

Human plasma contains at least three forms of adiponectin: a trimer, a hexamer, and a high-molecular-weight (HMW) multimer. We purified HMW adiponectin from human plasma using its affinity to gelatin and obtained monoclonal antibodies against it. On Western blot analysis, the reactivity of these monoclonal antibodies was shown to be restricted to a non-heat-denatured form of adiponectin molecules.