Table 1. The effect of niacin, simvastatin and their combination on plasma CETP activity after 4 and 18 weeks of treatment, as well as plasma CETP mass and hepatic CETP expression after 18 weeks of treatment.

	Average plasma CETP activity(nmol/mL/h)	Plasma CETP mass (µg/mL)	Hepatic CETP expression(% of control)
Control	64.3±11.4	21.3±3.4	100±30
Niacin	50.6±6.6 **	16.6±3.5 **	76±23 P = 0.072
Simva	48.1±8.4 ***	13.4±3.5 ***	76±25
Niacin+Simva	42.6±8.9 *** P = 0.081	11.0±2.2 *** P = 0.050	58±33 P = 0.059

CETP, cholesteryl ester transfer protein; Simva, simvastatin. Values are means ± SD (n = 15 per group for plasma CETP activity and mass and n = 6–8 per group for hepatic CETP expression). **P<0.01 and ***P<0.001 as compared to control.