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 and safety of ezetimibe co-administered with simvastatin compared with atorvastatin in adults with hypercholesterolemia.
This study compared the efficacy and safety of co-administered ezetimibe + simvastatin with atorvastatin monotherapy in adults with hypercholesterolemia . Seven hundred eighty-eight patients were r and omized 1:1:1 to 3 treatment groups ; each group was force-titrated over four 6-week treatment periods : ( 1 ) 10 mg of atorvastatin as the initial dose was titrated to 20 , 40 , and 80 mg ; ( 2 ) co-administration of 10 mg of ezetimibe and 10 mg of simvastatin ( 10/10 mg ) was titrated to 10/20 , 10/40 , and 10/80 mg of ezetimibe + simvastatin ; and ( 3 ) co-administration of 10/20 mg of ezetimibe + simvastatin was titrated to 10/40 mg ( for 2 treatment periods ) and 10/80 mg of ezetimibe + simvastatin . Key efficacy measures included percent changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( LDL ) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( HDL ) from baseline to the ends of ( 1 ) treatment periods 1 and 2 ( for LDL cholesterol ) comparing co-administration of 10/20 mg and 10/10 mg of ezetimibe + simvastatin with 10 mg of atorvastatin and ( 2 ) treatment period 4 ( for LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol ) comparing co-administration of 10/80 mg of ezetimibe + simvastatin with 80 mg of atorvastatin .  Baseline LDL and HDL cholesterol levels were comparable between treatment groups . At the end of treatment period 1 , the mean decrease of LDL cholesterol was significantly ( p < /=0.001 ) greater for co-administration of 10/10 mg and 10/20 mg of ezetimibe + simvastatin than for 10 mg of atorvastatin . At the end of treatment period 4 and after comparing maximum doses , co-administration of 10/80 mg of ezetimibe + simvastatin was superior to 80 mg of atorvastatin in the percent LDL cholesterol decrease ( -59.4 % vs -52.5 % , p < 0.001 ) and HDL cholesterol increase ( 12.3 % vs 6.5 % ; p < 0.001 ) . All treatments were well tolerated . Thus , a greater LDL cholesterol decrease and HDL cholesterol increase were attained by treating patients with co-administration of ezetimibe and simvastatin than with atorvastatin
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 .