The preparations for the CBD epilepsy study were started in December 2017, including hiring a full[1]time research assistant and part-time work/study student, creating all of the study documents necessary for the trial, and creating a newsletter/announcement for Colorado veterinarians. We began enrolling patients for the study at the end of January 2018.
We anticipated enrolling 20 patients per year; we have completed the anticipated enrollment of 60 dogs. Additionally, we have been working with outside clinics in Colorado to help us in the enrollment process of the study. Three local specialty clinics with board-certified neurologists are conducting the study with CSU’s oversight at their hospitals and general veterinarians are helping with the recheck appointments and blood draws.
Our study has continued to gain a lot of media attention, which has helped generate interest in the study from pet owners and veterinarians. No severe adverse effects have been noted. Unfortunately, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study was not allowed to enroll new cases for about 6 months.
We have subsequently been granted permission to continue to collect data from the dogs that were enrolled prior to the University shutdown in March, and have also been able to enroll new patients, which allowed us to complete the study. However, the last set of dogs are still active in their study protocol, requiring a 6 month no-cost extension. The study is now scheduled to end in May 2021.
