Adding a drug that inhibits cholesterol absorption from the gut to treatment with a "statin" drug, which inhibits cholesterol production in the liver, is more effective than statin treatment alone in lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol. That finding was reported here during the final late-breaking session at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting. Statins such as Zocor or Lipitor (news - web sites) have become standard treatments for high cholesterol. Mike in Brazil The results of a trial called EASE, in which the cholesterol absorption blocker Zetia (generic name, ezetimibe) was added to a statin show that the combination reduced LDL cholesterol 26 percent compared with a 3 percent reduction with single therapy in a 6-week comparison of the two treatments. The EASE trial involved 3030 patients on stable doses of statins who had not achieved LDL target levels. Two-thirds of the participants were randomized to take statins plus Zetia or statins only for 6 weeks. Principal investigator Thomas A. Pearson of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, New York, announced that combination therapy was effective across all ages, genders and races. 8th street latinas Pearson said that 71 percent of the total group on combination therapy achieved target LDL cholesterol levels. He told Reuters Health that the "tolerability was excellent" with the combination.