Ezetimibe added to ongoing statin therapy improves LDL-C goal attainment and lipid profile in patients with diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

This analysis of the Ezetimibe Add-on to Statin for Effectiveness (EASE) trial examined the effectiveness and safety of ezetimibe 10 mg added to ongoing statin therapy in patients with diabetes, metabolic syndrome without diabetes, or neither disorder who had low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels exceeding National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) goals. After six weeks of treatment, ezetimibe added to statin reduced LDL-C in patients with diabetes by 28%, metabolic syndrome by 24%, or neither by 26%, compared with a 3% reduction for placebo for each group. In each group, more patients receiving ezetimibe plus statin reached LDL-C goal (67-74%) compared with those receiving placebo plus statin (19-22%). Other parameters demonstrating greater improvement with ezetimibe included triglycerides, apolipoprotein (Apo)B/Apo A-I ratio, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and C-reactive protein. Ezetimibe plus statin was well tolerated in each group. Ezetimibe added to ongoing statin therapy offers a new treatment option that is consistently effective in improvement of lipid profiles and attainment of LDL-C goals in patients with without diabetes or metabolic syndrome.