Efficacy of ezetimibe combined with atorvastatin in the treatment of carotid artery plaque in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated with coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of ezetimibe combined with atorvastatin in treatment of carotid artery plaque in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated with coronary heart disease (CHD).

METHODS: A total of 100 patients with carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) confirmed by ultrasound and diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and CHD were randomly assigned to atorvastatin group (atorvastatin 20 mg/day) or combined treatment group (ezetimibe 10 mg/day and atorvastatin 20 mg/day). All those patients were followed for 12 months. Serum lipid, ALT, AST, and CK were measured before and after treatment. Ultrasonography was used to evaluate the stability of carotid artery plaques.

RESULTS: After 12 months of treatment, the level of TC, TG, LDL-C, hs-CRP, FPG and HbA1c decreased in both groups compared with before treatment. TC, TG, LDL-C and hs-CRP in the combined treatment group were much lower than that in the atorvastatin group (P<0.05). The IMT and plaque area in the two groups were lower than that before the treatment (P<0.05). IMT and plaques area in the combined treatment group is much lower than that in the atorvastatin group after treatment. There was no significant difference in two groups on the level of ALT, AST, CK compared with baseline after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: The effect of combined use of atorvastatin and ezetimibe was better than atorvastatin alone, which can effectively reduce the blood lipid levels in diabetic patients with CHD and improve plaque stability. Both treatment regimens were safe and well tolerated.