Effects of ezetimibe on clinical outcomes in patient with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a serious lung disease that affects about 3 million people worldwide. In IPF, the lungs become scarred over time, making it hard to breathe. This scarring is called "lung fibrosis." Sadly, people with IPF often live only 3-5 years after diagnosis.
Nintedanib can slow the progression of IPF by blocking specific proteins that promote scarring, but it cannot cure the disease. While this medicine helps, we still need better treatments for IPF.
Ezetimibe is a drug that lowers cholesterol in the blood. It works by stopping cholesterol from being absorbed in the gut. Recent studies show ezetimibe might have other benefits too, like helping with heart, kidney, and liver problems.
Our team found that ezetimibe might reduce lung scarring in IPF. We also looked at medical records in South Korea and saw that IPF patients taking ezetimibe seemed to live longer and their lungs worked better for longer. These findings are exciting, but we need more proof that ezetimibe really helps IPF patients.
In this study, we want to see if ezetimibe can help IPF patients when added to nintedanib. We'll look at data from past clinical trials of these drugs. We'll compare how fast the lungs got worse in patients who only took nintedanib to those who also took ezetimibe.
We'll also see if patients who did not take nintedanib can also benefit from taking ezetimibe.