A Randomized, Double-Blinded Study of Simvastatin 20 mg/Day Versus Vytorin 10/20 in Subjects With Lipid Profiles Not Meeting Current NCEP Guidelines, Following a Low-Carbohydrate Diet (LOCUST)

People who follow a low-carbohydrate diet typically experience a decrease in triglycerides and increase in HDL-C level, but fail to lower their LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). Such patients may require lipid-lowering therapy. Statins may not be the most effective strategy for patients on this diet, since they typically consume a greater amount of saturated fat and cholesterol. Absorbed cholesterol may contribute more to their circulating plasma LDL-C. We hypothesize that patients following a low carbohydrate diet would experience a significantly greater decrease in LDL-C by taking ezetimibe 10 mg, a drug that blocks cholesterol uptake in the intestine, in addition to simvastatin 20 mg, when compared to taking simvastatin 20 mg alone.