Ezetimibe

Ezetimibe (Zetia) is a compound that lowers cholesterol. Ezetimibe (Zetia) acts by decreasing cholesterol absorption in the intestine. Ezetimibe (Zetia) may be used alone, when other cholesterol-lowering medications are not tolerated, or together with statins when statins alone do not control cholesterol. Ezetimibe localises at the brush border of the small intestine, where ezetimibe (Zetia) inhibits the absorption of cholesterol from the intestine. Specifically, ezetimibe (Zetia) appears to bind to a critical mediator of cholesterol absorption, the Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1) protein on the gastrointestinal tract epithelial cells as well as in hepatocytes.