Metabolic & Cardiometabolic
ezetimibe prevents cholesterol gallstones
In plain terms: Does the cholesterol drug ezetimibe prevent gallstones?
Part of: 💊 ezetimibe
Only hinted at in animal studies; it hasn't been shown to prevent gallstones in people. A speculative possible side-benefit, not an established one.
📅 Last reviewed: 2026-07-15 ⓘ
Evidence ladder
How far up the ladder this claim has climbed. A high consensus on a low rung means "consistent so far," not "proven in people."
Top evidence so far: Animal studies (Animal)
How the studies fall
What the evidence shows
Ezetimibe prevents cholesterol gallstone formation in mice by desaturating biliary cholesterol (direct NPC1L1 mechanism) - reproducible and mechanistically coherent, but no human outcome trial. Plausible, unproven in people.
The evidence (7)
| Source | Grade | Stance | Quality | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wang 2008 2008 · Gastroenterology | animal | supports | moderate | [FT-verified] Wittenburg/Wang 2008 mouse lithogenic-diet; human arm measured only biliary cholesterol NOT gallstone outcome; regrade->animal |
| Mo P, et al. 2023 · Heliyon | animal | supports | moderate | AAV-mNPC1L1 mice EZE prevents cholesterol gallstone via biliary desaturation; 3rd animal group no human |
| Yang G et al 2024 · study_type: observational | observational | tested-null | low | Human Mendelian randomization (UK Biobank/FinnGen/BioBank Japan) testing drug-target-mimicking genetic variants; NPC1L1-mediated LDL-lowering (ezetimibe's target) showed no significant association with gallstone disease risk, unlike statins |
| Dong H et al 2024 · study_type: observational | observational | tested-null | moderate | Human Mendelian randomization study of genetically-proxied lipid-lowering drug targets (HMGCR, PCSK9, NPC1L1) vs cholelithiasis risk; NPC1L1 inhibition (ezetimibe's mechanism) showed no significant correlation with cholelithiasis risk in ei |
| Sun Y et al 2025 · study_type: animal | animal | supports | moderate | Mouse lithogenic-diet model; ezetimibe (5 mg/day, positive control) suppressed cholesterol gallstone formation and reduced bile cholesterol/phospholipids alongside sodium butyrate. Confirms known ezetimibe anti-lithogenic effect in mice. |
| Shen W et al 2023 · study_type: animal | animal | supports | moderate | Mouse lithogenic-diet model comparing diosgenin to ezetimibe; ezetimibe supplementation completely prevented gallstone formation via NPC1L1 downregulation/cholesterol absorption inhibition. Ezetimibe is the established comparator drug in th |
| Zuniga 2008 2008 · Liver Int | animal | supports | moderate | [FT-verified] Zuniga 2008 EZE prevents gallstones C57BL/6 mice 60% drop CSI NPC1L1 mechanism. ANIMAL |
Disagree, or know a study we missed?
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Educational only, not medical advice. Grades and scores reflect published evidence weighted by study design and quality; see the methodology.