Ruggenenti et al. (1) report the effect of adding ezetimibe to simvastatin in patients with type 2 diabetes. Some additional comments could be of interest.
The serum HDL cholesterol was significantly lower after adding ezetimibe compared with simvastatin monotherapy. However, the LDL-to-HDL cholesterol ratio improved (from 2.06 to 1.47 by our calculations). Was this difference significant?
Ezetimibe decreased serum creatinine levels in patients (n = 742 and 108) (2–3) with baseline values at the “high end” of the reference range. Some of these patients had type 2 diabetes. Thus, Ruggenenti et al. could assess the effect of ezetimibe on renal function in this subgroup of their patients.
Acknowledgments
D.P.M. has given talks sponsored by MSD, the manufacturer of EZETROL (ezetimibe). He is on the advisory board for TREDAPTIVE (nicotinic acid + laropiprant) also manufactured by MSD.
