We thank Mark et al.Citation1 for their comments.
Indeed our methodologyCitation2 may appear complex but we hope that Mark et al.Citation1 understand that a detailed description was necessary.
We agree with the interpretation of Mark et al.Citation1 regarding the greater probability of achieving low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets with a statin + ezetimibe compared with statin monotherapy. In fact, in an earlier meta-analysis we reported that adding ezetimibe to a statin resulted in a 23.6% further reduction in LDL-C levelsCitation3. This effectiveness of combination therapy also extends to MediterraneanCitation4 and non-Caucasian populationsCitation5, patients with and without diabetes mellitusCitation6 and if we apply the most recent (2009) Canadian guideline LDL-C goalsCitation7.
References
- Mark L, Paragh G, Reiber I. The role of ezetimibe in LDL cholesterol goal attainment in very high risk patients. The rosuvastatin monotherapy looks to be insufficient. Curr Med Res Opin 2011;27:1959-60
- Mikhailidis DP, Lawson RW, McCormick AL, et al. Comparative efficacy of the addition of ezetimibe to statin vs statin titration in patients with hypercholesterolaemia: systematic review and meta-analysis. Curr Med Res Opin 2011;27:1191-210
- Mikhailidis DP, Sibbring GC, Ballantyne CM, et al. Meta-analysis of the cholesterol-lowering effect of ezetimibe added to ongoing statin therapy. Curr Med Res Opin 2007;23:2009-26
- Migdalis I, Efthimiadis A, Pappas S, et al. Clinical experience with ezetimibe/simvastatin in a Mediterranean population. Curr Med Res Opin 2009;25:2571-6
- Huang JC, Lee TY, Liou MJ, et al. Begin with the Real-world Patients of Non-goal-achieved Hypercholesterolemia in Taiwan through the Ezetimibe/Simvastatin Tablet – the BRAVO study. Curr Med Res Opin 2011;27:1645-51
- Leiter LA, Betteridge DJ, Farnier M, et al. Lipid-altering efficacy and safety profile of combination therapy with ezetimibe/statin vs. statin monotherapy in patients with and without diabetes: an analysis of pooled data from 27 clinical trials. Diabetes Obes Metab 2011;13:615-28
- Leiter LA, Bays H, Conard S, et al. Attainment of Canadian and European guidelines’ lipid targets with atorvastatin plus ezetimibe vs. doubling the dose of atorvastatin. Int J Clin Pract 2010;64:1765-72