Thanks - that link explained it all except that it didn't name the drug. I tried to search for a list of beta-blockers made by Bayer, but didn't find anything but a calcium channel blocker called Adalat mfg by Bayer. I did find an interesting link about the motivation of drug companies:
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/business/85/8526bus2.html
"Big Pharma Chases Dogs & Cats"
Anyway, the drug trial is the same as the trials done on enalapril - they are looking for dogs with endocardiosis who have changes in the heart (enlargement) but who are not yet in CHF to see if there is a drug that will prolong the time to full blown CHF. Dogs must not be on any other meds. Of course there would be a huge market for a drug that would perform well in a trial.
Considerations (remember I am majorly over-analytical!) -
Cons - I'd strongly consider doing this with Dr. Gordon or Dr. Lehmkuhl doing the hands-on evaluations. But.....below is what I found about Dr. Bancroft:
Dr. Ann Bancroft received her Veterinary Medicine degree from The Ohio State University in 2006. Prior to graduating, she worked at MedVet as a technician (since 1998) and is now currently employed at MedVet as a veterinarian. Dr. Bancroft is also a member of the AVMA and International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM).
So - she's a young vet, not an internist or a cardiologist. Even though Dr. L is supervising, I wouldn't be too happy with this, but then again I'm pretty "hard core" about who I want doing diagnostics on my dogs.
Pros - you'd get a lot of free diagnostic work. If finances are tight, this is a strong incentive. But, to me, that's really the only incentive (other than the altruistic factor). And, as above, free diagnostics done by Dr. Gordon are not equivalent to free diagnostics done by Dr. Bancroft. I think there is, in reality, little chance that this drug trial would actually benefit Colleen directly. 50/50 that she would even get the active drug, and I'd be truly surprised if this drug is the "magic bullet" that Bayer would like for it to be!
Questions to ask - see if they will even tell you the name of the drug. If you knew that, you could do a little research on your own. You could at least look at the human literature even though that's not a perfect correlation.
Will they do blood chemistry every three months? This would be to watch for kidney or liver damage - frequent side effects in canines of many drugs. Will they give your vet copies of all reports every three months? (And I presume your vet would give you copies.) Will they do an echo every three months? They kind of waffle on what exactly they will do every three months - give a list of tests that MIGHT be done but don't guarantee all tests will be done to all dogs every three months. What is the length of the trial - dogs are pulled out when CHF ensues or ? what is the maximum time they'd be in the trial?
If your dog goes into CHF during the trial, I presume that she would be removed from the trial (since that is the endpoint of the trial for each dog) so that you could treat appropriately with other medication.
Make sure if you pull her out of the trial for any reason, there aren't any repercussions (like breaking a cell phone contract!) where you have to pay anything.
That's all I can think of for now. Oh - looking into my crystal ball, I predict:
No problem for Colleen to have a dental including extraction - don't forget pre and post dental antibiotics.
The drug trial will end with no significantly statistical proof of longer duration before onset of CHF due to the drug!! (There are so many variables that cannot be controlled in a drug trial - specifically the great variability from animal to animal in the progression of endocardiosis (genetic makeup, environment, weight, nutrition, nutraceuticals, vaccinations, and on and on and on). This is also why I put little faith into the results of the two enalapril studies. I have discussed this ad nauseum with my cardio, and this is why we've put some of my dogs on early enalapril (before CHF) and some we have not. Each case is treated as an individual.
Pat (sorry to have rambled on and on and on!)