Mass General - Division of Clinical Research

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing epidemic in the United States. Despite this, the treatment options remain limited. Preclinical and preliminary clinical data suggest that estrogen deficiency plays an important role in the pathology of steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the progressive form of NAFLD. Post-menopausal women are a growing population with particularly high risk of NASH due to their lack of estrogen. This study will examine the effect of estradiol on hepatic fibrosis and fat in post-menopausal women with NASH.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2021

open study

Patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) often have concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) which may adversely affect prognosis. There is uncertainty about the benefits and the optimal timing of revascularization for such patients. There is currently clinical equipoise regarding the management of concomitant CAD in patients undergoing TAVR. Some centers perform routine revascularization with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (either before or after TAVR), while others follow an alternative strategy of medical management. The potential benefits and optimal timing of PCI in these patients are unknown. As TAVR expands to lower risk patients, and potentially becomes the preferred therapy for the majority of patients with severe aortic stenosis, the optimal management of concomitant coronary artery disease will be of increasing importance. The COMPLETE TAVR study will determine whether, on a background of guideline-directed medical therapy, a strategy of complete revascularization involving staged PCI using drug eluting stents to treat all suitable coronary artery lesions is superior to a strategy of medical therapy alone in reducing the composite outcome of Cardiovascular Death, new Myocardial Infarction, Ischemia-driven Revascularization or Hospitalization for Unstable Angina or Heart Failure. The study will be a randomized, multicenter, open-label trial with blinded adjudication of outcomes. Patients will be screened and consented for elective transfemoral TAVR and randomized within 96 hours of successful balloon expandable TAVR. Complete Revascularization: Staged PCI using third generation drug eluting stents to treat all suitable coronary artery lesions in vessels that are at least 2.5 mm in diameter and that are amenable to treatment with PCI and have a ≥70% visual angiographic diameter stenosis. Staged PCI can occur any time from 1 to 45 days post successful transfemoral TAVR. Vs. Medical Therapy Alone: No further revascularization of coronary artery lesions. All patients, regardless of randomized treatment allocation, will receive guideline-directed medical therapy consisting of risk factor modification and use of evidence-based therapies. The COMPLETE TAVR study will help address the current lack of evidence in this area. It will likely impact both the global delivery of health care and the management and clinical outcomes of all patients undergoing TAVR with concomitant CAD.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2020

open study

The TricValve® Transcatheter Bicaval Valve System is a bicaval transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement system, which includes the TricValve® Transcatheter Bicaval Valve for superior vena cava (SVC) and the TricValve® Transcatheter Bicaval Valve for inferior vena cava (IVC). The TricValve® Transcatheter Bicaval Valves are pre-mounted into the TricValve® Delivery System which is used for percutaneous access and delivery of the TricValve® Transcatheter Bicaval Valve in the vena cava. The system is a single use, sterile device compatible with all the valve sizes. The prostheses are implanted percutaneously into the inferior and superior vena cava without disturbing the native tricuspid valve. The device is made of bovine pericardium leaflets sutured on a nitinol self-expanding stent system.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2024

open study

A study of how supplemental oxygen helps patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Hypothesis: Oxygen affects right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) primarily by relieving hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and reducing pulmonary pressure (PA) pressure, and that this process is metabolically driven.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2023

open study

This study is a mechanistic randomized controlled trial that investigates whether inhibition of tumor necrosis factor signaling via intravenous infusion of infliximab improves psychomotor speed and executive functioning in depressed individuals who exhibit an inflammatory phenotype.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomized trial of a brief psychoeducational intervention versus enhanced usual care for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who are initiating neoadjuvant multimodality treatment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

NMOSDCopilot is a digital tool developed for the self-assessment of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder symptoms that impact patients' functioning and quality of life. It has been co-designed with the help of patient advocacy groups, NMOSD patients and medical experts. It includes a smartphone-based application for patients, connected to a web portal developed for healthcare professionals (HCSPs). The patient application is composed of vision, walking, cognition, and dexterity e-active tests inspired by clinical standards, as well as e-questionnaires. The HCP web portal is a desktop-based software that allows HCPs to access the results generated via the patient application and facilitates remote monitoring of patients' symptoms. The objectives of this study are to validate the accuracy, reliability and reproducibility of the unsupervised at-home self-assessment of symptoms on the patient's smartphone versus the standard in-clinic testing, as well as to evaluate the safety of use of the tool, its usability, and satisfaction towards the patient application among NMOSD patients, and the HCP web dashboard among HCPs.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2023

open study

The purpose of this Clinical Research Collaboration is to investigate the prognostic implications of pulmonary hemodynamics during exercise based on a large scale multi-centre approach by using retrospective and prospective analysis of hemodynamic data.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Dec 2018

open study

Individuals with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) frequently report difficulties with attention and memory. The main question this study seeks to answer is: Do patients with ITP have evidence of cognitive impairment as detected by a cognitive function test battery? To address this issue, participants will take a cognitive function test and complete surveys on quality of life, fatigue, depression, and cognitive symptoms. The primary aim of the study is to evaluate for the presence and extent of cognitive impairment in patients with ITP. The study will also assess whether cognitive impairment in ITP is associated with patient-reported impacts on quality of life, fatigue, mood, and cognitive symptoms as well as clinical characteristics such as ITP disease and treatment history.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2024

open study

The study will enroll 200 women newly diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy within 5 months postpartum in a randomized placebo controlled trial of bromocriptine therapy to evaluate its impact on myocardial recovery and clinical outcomes. Given that bromocriptine prevents breastfeeding, an additional 50 women with peripartum cardiomyopathy excluded from the trial due to a desire to continue breastfeeding but meeting all other entry criteria will be followed in an observational cohort.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2022

open study

RATIONALE: Studying samples of blood and tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about changes that occur in DNA and identify biomarkers related to cancer. It may also help the study of cancer in the future. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is analyzing the DNA in blood and tissue samples from patients with lung cancer.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2005

open study

The Epilepsy Learning Health System (ELHS) is a quality improvement and research network to improve outcomes for people with epilepsy. The ELHS is designed as a model of value-based chronic care for epilepsy as envisioned by the National Academies of Medicine Committee in their landmark reports "The Learning Health System" and "Epilepsy Across the Spectrum: Promoting Health and Understanding". The ELHS network is a collaboration among clinicians, patients and researchers that promotes the use of data for multiple purposes including one-on-one clinical care, population management, quality improvement and research. The ELHS Registry includes data on children and adults with epilepsy collected during the process of standard epilepsy care. These data are used to create population health reports and to track changes in outcomes over time. ELHS teams use quality improvement methods, such as Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles, to continuously learn how to improve care.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Mar 2019

open study

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to compare telehealth and onsite supervised maintenance exercise program for adults with Chronic Lung Disease. The specific aims of the study are: - To compare 8-week supervised maintenance program delivered onsite and via tele-rehab with no maintenance for patients with Chronic Lung Disease following discharge from traditional exercise or physical therapy or onsite outpatient rehabilitation programs on clinical outcomes (dyspnea, exercise capacity, physical function, physical activity, and quality of life) at 8 weeks and 4-months post-intervention. - To compare the differences in dyspnea, exercise capacity, physical function, physical activity, and quality of life between an 8-week maintenance program delivered onsite and via tele-rehab at 8-weeks and 4-months post-intervention in patients with Chronic Lung Disease following discharge from traditional onsite outpatient rehabilitation. Participants in both intervention groups (onsite and tele-rehab) will undergo a baseline onsite assessment followed by an 8-week supervised exercise intervention either onsite or in a telehealth setting. Control group will receive biweekly check in calls, but no active intervention.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

Iadademstat is being studied as a treatment for subjects with Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (R/R AML) with FMS-like tyrosine kinase mutation (FLT3 mut+). During the trial, iadademstat will be given in combination with gilteritinib, a drug that is already approved to treat patients with FLT3-mutated R/R AML.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2022

open study

The purpose of the HALT Biomarkers study are to identify a panel of circulating proteins that discriminates between patients with and without Hypo-Attenuated Leaflet Thickening (HALT) and can be used to supplement the diagnosis of HALT; to characterize changes in circulating proteins after treatment of HALT with systemic anticoagulation; and to identify circulating proteins that predict the occurrence of HALT. The study population will be adult patients undergoing transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for severe aortic stenosis (AS) or bioprosthetic valve degeneration. Enrollment will continue until 30 patients with HALT are identified for completion of phase 1. Based on a HALT incidence rate of 10%, we anticipate enrolling 300 patients. Patients are enrolled prior to undergoing transfemoral TAVR. Blood samples, clinical data and echocardiograms will be collected at the following timepoints: baseline (pre-TAVR, T0), post-TAVR (pre-discharge, T1), 30-day follow-up (window 3-9 weeks, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3). Cardiac 4D CT will be performed at the 30-day follow-up visit to screen for the occurrence of HALT. Patients with HALT will be treated with systemic anticoagulation for 5-6 months, at which point a follow-up CT scan and blood sample will be obtained. Control subjects will also undergo a 6-month study visit with blood sample collection. The study will be conducted within two phases. Phase 1 will serve as a derivation / discovery study in which candidate protein biomarkers of HALT will be identified. Once this is successfully completed, a second cohort will be enrolled within phase 2. Phase 2 will be performed under the auspices a future contract or amendment and will seek to cross-validate the initial study findings.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2020

open study