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02:10 am: talk to me about clinical trials
My dog Aiko has arthritis in one elbow. He is seven. He has done alright for several years on Rimadyl, but he just started limping really badly, I think after chasing a raccoon out of the yard. His vet prescribed gabapentin, which has helped a lot. But while I was searching the web I found:
FREE CLINICAL TRIAL! Canine Osteoarthritis (Fort Collins)
[A local reputable] Animal Hospital is conducting a clinical drug trial on dogs with osteoarthritis. Dogs must be 1 year or older and have osteoarthritis of at least one joint. All breeds, sexes, and sizes accepted. Qualified candidates will receive exams, lab work, medication, and x-rays at NO CHARGE and will receive a hospital credit of $300 for completion of this 112 day study to use toward any additional service. For more information and to see if your pet qualifies, please call us at


Could this be a good thing for Aiko? I care a little about advancing medical science for all dogs, but not nearly as much as I care about Aiko.

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[User Picture]
From:randomdreams
Date:February 6th, 2015 03:27 pm (UTC)
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Do it! Gabapentin is pretty awesome -- N is taking handfuls -- but this might be a big advance for both Aiko and science in general.

Or maybe he'll be the control and it won't do anything at all other than advance science.
[User Picture]
From:eeyorerin
Date:February 6th, 2015 05:20 pm (UTC)
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It could be. I would definitely see if he qualifies.

And if it doesn't help, you can use the vet money to see if anything else will.
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From:siderea
Date:February 6th, 2015 05:29 pm (UTC)
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Huh! I had no idea that animal hospitals recruited volunteers the way human hospitals do.
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From:malnpudl
Date:February 6th, 2015 09:50 pm (UTC)
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Wouldn't hurt to find out more.

On the plus side, he'll get lots of free exams, and presumably if they find out anything you ought to know, they'll tell you and/or your vet. Also, he might get free therapy and it might help him. That's all pretty awesome.

On the other hand, you don't know if he'll actually get the treatment or if he'll get the placebo. And if he does get the treatment, you don't know what the side effects might be. And one minor consideration -- he'll probably have to be at least sedated and possibly anaesthetized for X-rays, and there's a certain amount of risk associated with that, though it's probably low unless he has other health complications.

If it were me, I'd definitely call and find out more about it.

Another consideration might be whether he'd have to go off Rimadyl and/or gabapentin during the trial. Would this be something you'd be okay with? It's, what, almost four months? If he ends up getting the placebo and isn't allowed one or both of his current pain meds, would that be acceptable?
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