Suppose that under the conventional randomized clinical trial setting, a new therapy is compared with a standard treatment. In this article, we propose a systematic, 2-stage estimation procedure for the subject-level treatment differences for future patient's disease management and treatment selections. To construct this procedure, we first utilize a parametric or semiparametric method to estimate individual-level treatment differences, and use these estimates to create an index scoring system for grouping patients. We then consistently estimate the average treatment difference for each subgroup of subjects via a nonparametric function estimation method. Furthermore, pointwise and simultaneous interval estimates are constructed to make inferences about such subgroup-specific treatment differences. The new proposal is illustrated with the data from a clinical trial for evaluating the efficacy and toxicity of a 3-drug combination versus a standard 2-drug combination for treating HIV-1-infected patients.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide ( 1 ). Dyslipidemia has been shown to be one of the most potent risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) ( 2, 3 ). Dyslipidemia is characterized by elevated plasma cholesterol, especially low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) levels. Management of dyslipidemia is considered throughout the primary and secondary prevention of CHD ( 4 ). For the past 20 years, the statin (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase inhibitors) class of cholesterol-lowering drugs has been used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, either alone or in combination with other classes of lipid-lowering drugs Abstract In an attempt to understand the applicability of various animal models to dyslipidemia in humans and to identify improved preclinical models for target discovery and validation for dyslipidemia, we measured comprehensive plasma lipid profi les in 24 models. These included fi ve mouse strains, six other nonprimate species, and four nonhuman primate (NHP) species, and both healthy animals and animals with metabolic disorders. Dyslipidemic humans were assessed by the same measures. Plasma lipoprotein profi les, eight major plasma lipid fractions, and FA compositions within these lipid fractions were compared both qualitatively and quantitatively across the species. Given the importance of statins in decreasing plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol for treatment of dyslipidemia in humans, the responses of these measures to simvastatin treatment were also assessed for each species and compared with dyslipidemic humans. NHPs, followed by dog, were the models that demonstrated closest overall match to dyslipidemic humans. For the subset of the dyslipidemic population with high plasma triglyceride levels, the data also pointed to hamster and db/db mouse as representative models for practical use in target validation. Most traditional models, including rabbit, Zucker diabetic fatty rat, and the majority of mouse models, did not demonstrate overall similarity to dyslipidemic humans in this study . -

The results indicate that rofecoxib is a potent and specific inhibitor of COX-2 in humans even at doses more than tenfold higher than those associated with efficacy in patients with osteoarthritis.

Losartan treatment reduced renal outcomes in proteinuric patients with type 2 diabetes in the Reduction of Endpoints in NIDDM with the Angiotensin II Antagonist Losartan (RENAAL) study. It is unknown whether an insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphism in the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) gene predicts renal outcomes and death and influences the effect of losartan in these patients. Pharmacogenetic analyses were performed comparing losartan with placebo administered with conventional blood pressure-lowering therapy in 1435 (95%) of the 1513 RENAAL study patients. The primary endpoint was the composite of doubling of baseline serum creatinine concentration, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or death. Cox regression models were stratified on baseline proteinuria and included treatment, geographic region, ACE/ID genotype, and treatment ϫ genotype interaction. Within the placebo group, subjects with the ID or DD genotype were more likely than those with the II genotype to reach the composite endpoint (by 17.5% and 38.1%, respectively, P ϭ 0.029) or its individual components. Within the losartan group, genotype did not correlate with reaching the composite endpoint. Compared with placebo, however, losartan reduced the risk of reaching the composite endpoint by 5. 8% (95% confidence interval, Ϫ23.3, 28.0), 17.6% (3.8, 29.4), and 27.9% (7.0, 44.1) among those with the II, ID, and DD genotypes, respectively. Similar trends were demonstrated for the individual endpoints. In conclusion, proteinuric type 2 diabetic patients with the D allele of the ACE gene have an unfavorable renal prognosis, which can be mitigated and even improved by losartan.

Etoricoxib is a potent selective COX-2 inhibitor in man. Ex vivo whole-blood assays assessed COX-2 inhibition after oral administration of etoricoxib in single (5-500 mg) and multiple (25-150 mg) once-daily doses to healthy human subjects. A separate study examined ex vivo gastric mucosal PGE2 synthesis after etoricoxib (120 mg qd), naproxen (500 mg bid), or placebo for 5 days. The effect of etoricoxib 120 mg qd on the COX-1-mediated antiplatelet effects of low-dose aspirin (ASA) was also assessed. The mean (time)-weighted average inhibition (WAI) of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated PGE2 (COX-2 assay) vcrsus placebo was dose related after single (range: 3.1%-99.1%) and multiple doses (range: 52.5%-96.7%). PGE2 remained significantly inhibited 24 hours postdose at steady state. Inhibition of LPS-stimulated PGE2 showed a strong relationship with etoricoxib plasma concentrations; ex vivo, IC50 was almost identical to in vitro. Multiple dosing of etoricoxib (up to 150 mg qd) showed no important effects on serum TXB2, bleeding time, or platelet aggregation (COX-1-mediated effects). The nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) naproxen significantly inhibited (approximately 78%) ex vivo prostaglandin synthesis in gastric mucosa; etoricoxib had no effect. Etoricoxib did not interfere with the antiplatelet effects of low-dose ASA, as assessed by serum TXB2 and platelet aggregation. Etoricoxib was generally well tolerated, even at doses above the clinical dose range. Based on these results, etoricoxib is a potent selective inhibitor of COX-2 after single and multiple dosing regimens and does not inhibit prostaglandin synthesis in the gastric mucosa, even at doses above the clinical dose range of 60 to 120 mg.