Better yet, it cut LDL, the bad cholesterol, by 18% more than Lipitor alone--a substantial decrease.
The medicine worked incredibly well, lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the bad cholesterol, by 70%.
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That led to very small change in LDL, and therefore, very little improvement of heart disease.
However, Vascepa has a key advantage over Lovaza, which can raise LDL, or so-called bad cholesterol.
Panelists wondered about the clinical effect of lowering LDL cholesterol from 400 to 300.
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Zetia lowers LDL 15% by preventing cholesterol from being absorbed from food in the intestine.
It is now widely accepted that high LDL cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease.
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"I'm firmly in the camp that says lowering LDL more is better, " says Rader.
He points out that LDL lowering is a main driver of the benefit of these drugs.
LDL, the bad cholesterol, was cut 50% on Lipitor, compared with 41% on Zocor.
Bad cholesterol, or LDL, was cut 50% on Lipitor, compared to 41% on Zocor.
The study, dubbed ENHANCE, did show a reduction in LDL levels for patients on Vytorin.
Physicians have been working hard for years to help patients reduce their "bad" LDL cholesterol.
Most of the time low-density lipoprotein (LDL), better known as "bad cholesterol, " sits around doing little.
"We've been running under this impression that LDL is God, " says cardiologist Allen J.
Some researchers now wonder whether Zetia may have subtle, negative effects that counteract its LDL-lowering ability.
He said the majority of niacin patients in the US have LDL levels over 70.
"Bad" cholesterol - low density lipoproteins (LDL) - contribute to furring of the arteries.
Crestor slashed their LDL levels to 54 and also reduced their CRP levels by 37%.
Your target LDL number can vary, depending on your underlying risk of heart disease.
The impact of the little HDL increase appears as important as that of the big LDL decrease.
Zetia and Vytorin were both approved by the FDA based on their ability to lower LDL cholesterol.
More than half of patients in clinical trials had more than a 20% decrease in LDL levels.
Other candidates for the drug are those kids with an LDL over 190 with no risk factors.
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Similarly, lipid lowering drugs were approved with only LDL lowering properties and a year of patient exposure.
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Takeda's pill, TAK-475, aimed to lower LDL cholesterol in a different way than either the statins or Zetia.
"I'm confused, " he says, because reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol, is such a cornerstone of cardiology.
Because LDL cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease, it's the main focus of cholesterol-lowering treatment.
With Vytorin, they could get the same level of LDL lowering as with high doses of Lipitor or Zocor.
These results make it hard to argue against the principle that when it comes to LDL, lower is better.
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