ARBITER 6: niacin superior to ezetimibe for slowing atherosclerosis
Use of extended-release niacin resulted in a significant benefit on atherosclerosis compared with ezetimibe in patients already taking statins in the ARBITER 6-HALTS trial.
The trial, presented at the meeting by Dr Allen Taylor (Medstar Research Institute, Washington DC, US), compared two distinct lipid-modifying strategies in patients with known vascular disease already on statins who had LDL-cholesterol levels <100 mg/dL (2.56 mmol/L) and moderately low HDL-cholesterol levels (<50 mg/dL [1.28 mmol/L]). Among the 363 patients enrolled in the study, half were randomised