Vemurafenib in patients with BRAF V600E mutation-positive advanced melanoma.

Background: Vemurafenib is an oral, small-molecule kinase inhibitor that selectively targets activated BRAF V600E and has been approved for the treatment of advanced BRAF mutation-positive melanoma.

Objective: This article reviews the clinical pharmacology, efficacy, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of vemurafenib and in addition outlines proposed mechanisms of vemurafenib resistance.

Methods: A literature search of MEDLINE and ScienceVerse Scopus was performed using the key words malignant melanoma, BRAF, vemurafenib, and PLX4032.

Evaluation of a therapeutic conversion from amlodipine to felodipine.

Study Objectives: To determine patient satisfaction with and tolerability of a conversion from a long-acting calcium channel blocker, amlodipine, to felodipine. Secondary objectives were to compare the effect of the change on blood pressure and heart rate and the economic impact of the change.

Design: Retrospective study.

Academic detailing to improve antihypertensive prescribing patterns.

Several studies indicate that treatment of hypertension in the United States does not follow recommendations from expert bodies. We thus implemented a program using academic detailers to increase practitioner compliance with antihypertensive treatment guidelines. Five Veterans Affairs medical facilities including academic medical centers and community based outpatient clinics were chosen for the intervention.

Is alternate daily dose of atorvastatin effective in treating patients with hyperlipidemia? The Alternate Day Versus Daily Dosing of Atorvastatin Study (ADDAS).

Background: The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the comparative efficacy of alternate-day dosing of atorvastatin compared with the standard once-daily dose based on mean low-density lipoprotein (LDL) reduction from baseline at 6 and 12 weeks of treatment.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 35 eligible patients who met the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel II (ATP II) guidelines for drug therapy, depending on their risk factors, were randomly assigned to receive 10 mg of atorvastatin as an initial dose every day or every other day. Patients were assessed at 6 and 12 weeks as to whether they met the LDL-C goal, and the dose was doubled if the goal was not reached.