A study published in BMC Medicine depicted that in individuals suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and dyslipidemia, the use of ezetimibe in combination with rosuvastatin was safe and led to a better reduction in liver fat when compared to rosuvastatin monotherapy. In this randomized controlled open-label trial (ESSENTIAL study), researchers aimed to determine effectiveness of ezetimibe (Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 inhibitor) + rosuvastatin vs rosuvastatin monotherapy to decrease liver fat in 70 people suffering from NAFLD.

Participants were allocated to get either 10 mg ezetimibe + 5 mg rosuvastatin daily (n=34) or 5 mg rosuvastatin (n=36) for up to twenty-four weeks. Utilizing magnetic resonance imaging-derived proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), the alteration in liver fat was estimated as average values in each of nine hepatic segments. For estimating liver fibrosis alteration, magnetic resonance elastography was utilized.

Compared with monotherapy, the combination therapy substantially decreased liver fat assessed by MRI-PDFF (mean difference: 3.2%). For both combination and monotherapy groups, a remarkable decrease was reported from baseline to study completion by MRI-PDFF. People having insulin resistance, serious hepatic fibrosis, increased body mass index, and type 2 diabetes were more likely to be good responders to ezetimibe therapy.

In both groups, magnetic resonance elastography-derived alteration in liver fibrosis was not considerably distinct. The controlled attenuation parameter by transient elastography was remarkably decreased in combination group (321 to 287 dB/m), but not in rosuvastatin monotherapy group (323 to 311 dB/m).

Hence, ezetimibe combined with rosuvastatin significantly reduces liver fat and is an effective and safe therapeutic option for the management of people with NAFLD and dyslipidemia.