CONCLUSIONS The results suggested that ezetimibe add-on to statin therapy is associated with an enhanced TNF-α-lowering effect  compared with statin monotherapy .
AIMS Statins are known to influence the status of adipokines , which play a key role in the pathophysiology of cardiometabolic diseases .
As the effect of ezetimibe as an add-on to statin therapy on the impact of statins on plasma adipokines levels is currently unclear , the aim of the present study was to investigate this through a meta- analysis of controlled trials .
Efficacy of long-term ezetimibe therapy in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Background Hyperlipidemia , insulin resistance , and oxidative stress can heavily contribute to the initiation and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease ( NAFLD ) . Currently , there is no established treatment for this disease . Recently , several studies have shown that ezetimibe ( EZ ) , a lipid-lowering drug , attenuates liver steatosis in an experimental NAFLD model . This study was design ed to assess the efficacy of long-term EZ monotherapy in patients with NAFLD . Methods A total of 45 patients with newly diagnosed liver biopsy-proven NAFLD were treated with EZ ( 10 mg/day ) for 24 months . NAFLD-related biochemical parameters , imaging by computerized tomography , and liver biopsy were studied before and after treatment . Results Ezetimibe therapy significantly improved NAFLD-related metabolic parameters including visceral fat area , fasting insulin , homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance ( HOMA-R ) , triglycerides , total cholesterol , low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( LDL-Ch ) , oxidative-LDL , the net electronegative charge modified-LDL , profiles of lipoprotein particle size and fatty acids component , and estimated desaturase activity .  EZ therapy also significantly lowered serum alanine aminotransferase and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels , whereas no significant changes were found in serum type IV collagen 7S , adiponectin , leptin , and resistin levels . Histological features of steatosis grade ( P = 0.0003 ) , necroinflammatory grade ( P = 0.0456 ) , ballooning score ( P = 0.0253 ) , and NAFLD activity score ( NAS ) ( P = 0.0007 ) were significantly improved from baseline . However , the fibrosis stage was not significantly ( P = 0.6547 ) changed . Conclusion The results in this study suggest that the long-term EZ therapy can lead to improvement in metabolic , biochemical , and histological abnormalities of NAFLD . Therefore , EZ may be a promising agent for treatment of NAFLD
CONCLUSIONS The results suggested that ezetimibe add-on to statin therapy is associated with an enhanced TNF-α-lowering effect  compared with statin monotherapy .
AIMS Statins are known to influence the status of adipokines , which play a key role in the pathophysiology of cardiometabolic diseases .
As the effect of ezetimibe as an add-on to statin therapy on the impact of statins on plasma adipokines levels is currently unclear , the aim of the present study was to investigate this through a meta- analysis of controlled trials .