7 hrs ago | New England Journal of Medicine
Statin Therapy with Ezetimibe or Niacin in High-Risk Patients
John J.P. Kastelein, M.D., Ph.D., and Michiel L. Bots, M.D., Ph.D. The use of statin therapy to reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients who are at high risk for vascular events results in a 30 to 40% reduction in the rate of clinical events.1 However, many patients continue to be at risk.
New England Journal of Medicine
Extended-Release Niacin or Ezetimibe and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness
Allen J. Taylor, M.D., Todd C. Villines, M.D., Eric J. Stanek, Pharm.D., Patrick J. Devine, M.D., Len Griffen, M.D., Michael Miller, M.D., Neil J. Weissman, M.D., and Mark Turco, M.D. ABSTRACT Background Treatment added to statin monotherapy to further modify the lipid profile may include combination therapy to either raise the high-density ...
How does Zetia and niacin affect the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT)?
By a margin of 0.014 mm in carotid intima-media thickness , extended-release niacin demonstrated superiority over ezetimibe as an add-on for high risk patients on long term statin therapy.
Extended-Release Niacin Wins Over Zetia in Reducing Plaque Thickness
A new study brings a new blow to Zetia . In a recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, it appears that taking the extended release form of a common supplement, niacin, works better in reducing atherosclerotic plaque thickness than Zetia, a newer cholesterol drug that is used to specifically lower LDL cholesterol.
Niacin Better than Statin Drug
The use of a pharmaceutical form of the B vitamin niacin to raise HDL cholesterol levels was more effective then using the drug ezetimibe to lower LDL cholesterol levels for patients at high cardiovascular riskA who also took statins, reports a new study .
Cheap Niacin Beats Pricier Zetia in Heart Patients
Results reported here Sunday may not put the nail in the coffin for a once wildly popular cholesterol-lowering drug, but they do put Zetia at the bottom of the list of medications that doctors will be using.
Vitamin Beats Statin: Is Merck's Zetia in Trouble?
A small study is causing a big splash in the multi-billion dollar world of cholesterol treatments.
Niaspan Tops Zetia In New Setback For Merck Drug
The damage, however, may be limited by the limitations of the study itself, which included data from just 208 patients and was criticized in a major medical journal.
Even a small study on Zetia, Vytorin makes impact
The drug's maker, Merck & Co., didn't wait for the bad news to break. In anticipation of the findings, executives including Peter Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories, and Richard Pasternak, Merck's head of global scientific affairs, sought to discredit the study by calling it 'flawed' and misleading in press interviews and through a ...
E-News Medical Alert: Westside Medical Associates of Los Angeles & Westside Medical Imaging
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In the study presented today at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida today, The Effect of Extended-release Niacin or Ezetimibe Added to Chronic Statin Therapy On Carotid Intima Media Thickness , study found that: Adding the cholesterol drug niacin to a statin improved ...
Answering The Vytorin Question
A trial showing that a form of niacin cleared arteries far better than Merck's Zetia cholesterol pill could have been disaster for the big drug maker.
Journal Watch - Medicine that Matters
Extended-Release Niacin Outperforms Ezetimibe in Lowering Cardiovascular Risk
In patients with high cardiovascular risk, extended-release niacin is associated with better outcomes than ezetimibe, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study released online.
Cholesterol Drug Trials: A Victory for Abbott Means a Loss for Merck
Over the weekend, the results in a small cardiovascular trial came out that compared Merck's Zetia against Abbott's Niaspan .
Niacin outperforms drug in artery health
More than 70 years ago, researchers at the University of Wisconsin were the first to use niacin, or vitamin B3, as a drug when they found it could quickly cure a horrible disease known as pellagra that began as a skin rash and led to dementia, killing thousands of people every year in rural America.
Using Dietary Supplements Safely
Today I read about a study that raises questions about the benefit of some cholesterol medications, and it turns out niacin was more effective than Zetia for reducing plaque-buildup in arteries.
A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin -- drugs that are still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work.
Merck Expresses Confidence In The Efficacy And Safety Profiles...
Merck Expresses Confidence In The Efficacy And Safety Profiles Of ZETIA And VYTORIN As Effective Medicines For Managing Elevated Cholesterol November 18, 2009 At the American Heart Association meeting recently, Merck & Co., Inc.
Do latest studies show niacin may work better than prescription drugs at lowering cholesterol?
Latest studies have reviewed the data and the effects, and found that the simplest solution, natural niacin is still the best way to lower your LDL cholesterol that signifies calcification, and raise your HDL cholesterol that removes the cholesterol before it calcifies your arteries and organs.
Niacin best for raising good cholesterol
Want more of that good HDL cholesterol ? Try a timed-release niacin, and be skeptical if your doctor gives the sales pitch for Zetia or Vytorin.
Australian doctors begin surgery to separate Bangladeshi twins conjoined at top of the head
A team of Australian surgeons were working Monday on a delicate and complicated surgery to separate twin sisters who are joined at the top of the head.
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