The lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the primary target of therapy in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Although statin therapy is the mainstay for LDL-C lowering, a significant percentage of patients prescribed these agents either do not achieve targets with statin therapy alone or have partial or complete intolerance to them. For such patients, the use of adjuvant therapy capable of providing incremental LDL-C reduction is advised. One such agent is ezetimibe, a cholesterol absorption inhibitor that targets uptake at the jejunal enterocyte brush border. Its primary target of action is the cholesterol transport protein Nieman Pick C1 like 1 protein. Ezetimibe is an effective LDL-C lowering agent and is safe and well tolerated. In response to significant controversy surrounding the use and therapeutic effectiveness of this drug, we provide an update on the biochemical mechanism of action for ezetimibe, its safety and efficacy, as well as the results of recent randomized studies that support its use in a variety of clinical scenarios.
Ezetimibe therapy: mechanism of action and clinical update
B. A. P. Phan,T. Dayspring,P. Toth
Published 2012 in Vascular Health and Risk Management
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2012
- Venue
Vascular Health and Risk Management
- Publication date
2012-07-03
- Fields of study
Medicine
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar, PubMed
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