Title:Ezetimibe: A Drug for the Treatment or Prevention of Cholesterol Gallstones?
Volume: 12
Issue: 2
Author(s): Ibrahim Guillermo Castro-Torres*, Elia Brosla Naranjo-Rodríguez*, María Isabel Gracia-Mora, Minerva Hernández-Lozano and Isis Beatriz Bermúdez-Camps
Affiliation:
- Avenida Universidad 3000, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Delegación Coyoacán, Ciudad de México,Mexico
- Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, UNAM, Ciudad de México,Mexico
Keywords:
Ezetimibe, cholesterol gallstones, prevention, NPC1L1 protein, gallbladder, mice.
Abstract: Background: Ezetimibe is an inhibitor of the intestinal absorption of cholesterol.
There are different cholesterol transporters in small intestine and one of the most
important is Niemann-Pick C1L1 protein (NPC1L1), who is the therapeutic target of
ezetimibe. When we talk about cholesterol gallstones disease, we deal with a public
health problem, whose pharmacological treatment is limited. Ursodeoxycholic acid is
used to dissolve cholesterol stones, and statins are other drugs with possible applications
in the treatment of this disease.
Objective: Our main purpose is to discuss how is that the authors have reported on the
effects of ezetimibe in cholesterol gallstones disease and to make a proposal on different
mechanisms of action that can contribute to the future treatment of this disease.
Results: When gallstones generate symptoms, medical treatment indicates gallbladder
removal. In different scientific studies, ezetimibe has been studied as a drug for preventing
and treating cholesterol gallstones; however, is not the same dissolve cholesterol gallstones
(treatment) than inhibit their formation (prevention). In the twenty-first century,
there seems to be a broad interest in studying the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and
associate it with the treatment of gallstones. It is an interesting research pathway in the
research of treatment and prevention of gallstones.
Conclusion: Ezetimibe is a drug that needs more clinical studies to be considered as an
agent for the treatment and prevention of cholesterol gallstones.
