Zetia Side Effects

Name:	Zetia
Generic:	Ezetimibe
Manufacturer:	Merck/Schering-Plough
Date approved:	October 25, 2002
Status:	Prescription only
Approved uses:	Treatment for patients who cannot control their cholesterol levels by diet alone
Off-Label uses:	None at present
Side effects:	Rhabdomyolysis - severe muscle damage including pain, tenderness and weakness Liver Damage Possible Allergic Reaction
Related topics:	Unsafe Drugs, Vytorin, Zocor, Simvastatin, Cholesterol
Common Misspellings:	zedia, exetimibe, ezitimibe,

Zetia (Ezetimibe)

Zetia (generic name ezetimibe) is a cholesterol medication used to lower levels of total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood. It is used for Tadalista patients who cannot control their cholesterol levels by diet alone. It can be used by itself or with certain other medicines to treat high cholesterol. By lowering cholesterol levels better than older medications called statins can do alone, Zetia is meant to help better prevent the development of arterial plaque, which can lead to heart disease and heart attacks.

However, an extensive study completed in mid 2006, and released in January 2008 has shown that taking Zetia had no benefit on the buildup of arterial plaque when compared with patients taking only statins such as Zocor. This finding is significant, as Zetia is more expensive than the generic version of Zocor (simvastatin). The manufacturer has disputed the study's findings, but within weeks of the study's release a class action lawsuit has already been filed against Merck and Schering-Plough. The Zetia lawsuit alleges that the companies have known since 2006 that their drug was no more effective than the cheaper generic Zocor, despite leading consumers to believe the opposite.

---

New Study Shows Zetia Not As Effective As Claimed

Zetia , a popular cholesterol drug manufactured by Merck, is under fire thanks to a recent study that suggests the drug is not as effective as advertised. Although the active ingredient ezetimibe has been shown to reduce cholesterol slightly, it is not as effective as Niacin, a cheap vitamin B drug. Zetia is a break through cholesterol medication that blocks cholesterol absorbtion in the intestines whereas its competitors, Lipitor, Zocor and other statin-type drugs, block cholesterol production in the liver.

Zetia Does Not Reduce Heart Attack Risk

Finally, the results of the trial were released in January of 2008. In a study to specifically measure the reduction of the growth of fatty plaques in arteries, both Zetia and Vytorin were shown to increase the fatty plaque growth in the patients' arteries, almost doubling the rate of growth when compared to another leading high-cholesterol medication. This one result leads many to believe that several cardiac complications and events could have been enabled by taking medication specifically prescribed to as a support for people at high risk for such problems.