Mass General - Division of Clinical Research

Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is a progressive syndrome in the family of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders involving devastating language impairments caused by selective neurodegeneration of the brain's language network. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for PPA. An exciting possibility for treatment is non-invasive repetitive transcranial brain stimulation (rTMS), which induces electric currents in degenerating brain networks, making them in some cases more efficient. Therapeutic benefits from rTMS have been demonstrated when it is applied in many sequential sessions. For example, repeated sessions of rTMS to left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is approved by the US Food and Drug administration as a treatment for major depressive disorder. With respect to language, high frequency rTMS increases the response rate for picture naming in healthy individuals and in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Further, in a sham controlled study, Cotelli and colleagues demonstrated that in a group of 10 non-fluent PPA patients, high frequency rTMS over the left and right dlPFC improved the percent of correct responses for action naming. When rTMS was applied for five consecutive days in a sham controlled single case study, Finocchiaro and colleagues showed lasting improvements in language (up to 1 week) in a patient with non-fluent PPA. Trebbastoni and colleagues further showed the same lasting improvements in language (up to 1 week) in a patient with logopenic PPA. Recently, in a sham controlled single case study, Bereau and colleagues applied a more intense rTMS protocol for ten consecutive days and demonstrated significant linguistic improvements in a logopenic PPA patient that lasted for 1 month. These studies have contributed valuable insights into the potential use of rTMS in treating the language symptoms of PPA patients.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2022

open study

This study is referred to as the "umbrella master protocol" for pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This pembrolizumab NSCLC umbrella master protocol uses a platform design and consists of this master screening study and three substudies. Each substudy will enroll a different population of NSCLC participants. The goal of this umbrella master protocol is to screen potential participants with NSCLC for enrollment into 1 of 4 substudies. Participants must first enroll in this pembrolizumab master protocol study and undergo screening for NSCLC that will be used to assign them to participation in 1 of 4 pembrolizumab substudies.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Dec 2019

open study

The purpose of this study is to test the effects of anti-PI-1 inhibitor (TSR-042) or anti-PD-1/anti-TIM-3 combination (TSR-042 / TSR-022) in patients with operable melanoma.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2020

open study

This research study is studying a combination of targeted therapies as a possible treatment for estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) endometrial cancer and low-grade serous ovarian cancer. The drugs involved in this study are: - Abemaciclib (also known as Verzenio™) - Letrozole (also known as Femara®) - Metformin (also known as Glucophage®) - Zotatifin (also known as eFT226)

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2018

open study

The purpose of this platform study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and preliminary antitumor activity of novel RAS(ON) inhibitors combined with Standard(s) of Care (SOC) or with novel agents. The first three subprotocols include the following: Subprotocol A: RMC-6236 + 5-fluorouracil-based regimens Subprotocol B: RMC-6236 + cetuximab with or without mFOLFOX6 Subprotocol C: RMC-6236 + gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

This is a pilot randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a first-line treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Cognitive Processing Therapy; CPT) versus waitlist control on mechanisms of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Further, this study will test the hypothesis that CPT reduces CVD risk through its effects on inflammation and autonomic function and that these changes are driven by changes in stress-related neural activity (SNA)

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

This research study aims to develop a brief group-based treatment called Resilience Training for Teens, then to test how well it protects high school students with mild symptoms of depression, anxiety, or having unusual feelings from developing mental illnesses.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2024

open study

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to assess the impact of disclosing a high polygenic risk result for coronary artery disease on change in cardiovascular health over one year.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

This Phase 1 study will assess the safety, tolerability, and preliminary antileukemic activity of ziftomenib in combination with venetoclax and azacitidine (ven/aza), ven, and 7+3 for two different molecularly-defined arms, NPM1-m and KMT2A-r.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the Thoraflex Hybrid device alone and in combination with the RelayPro NBS stent-graft in the treatment of aortic disease affecting the aortic arch and descending aorta with or without involvement of the ascending aorta. Patients who undergo treatment with the Thoraflex Hybrid device with or without extension with a RelayPro NBS stent-graft will be eligible for enrolment and study activities and follow-up regime will follow standard care at each participating site. Participant involvement in the study will last for a total of 10 years from the point at which the Thoraflex Hybrid device is placed.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Mar 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a brief, nurse-led intervention to support breast cancer survivors who have delayed initiation of hormonal therapy or who have concerns about starting hormonal therapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2022

open study

This clinical research study investigates the safety and tolerability of a peanut SLIT-tablet.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2022

open study

Persistent developmental stuttering affects more than three million people in the United States, and it can have profound adverse effects on quality of life. Despite its prevalence and negative impact, stuttering has resisted explanation and effective treatment, due in large part to a poor understanding of the neural processing impairments underlying the disorder. The overall goal of this study is to improve understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in speech motor planning and how these are disrupted in neurogenic speech disorders, like stuttering. The investigators will do this through an integrated combination of experiments that involve speech production, functional MRI, and non-invasive brain stimulation. The study is designed to test hypotheses regarding the brain processes involved in learning and initiating new speech sound sequences and how those processes compare in persons with persistent developmental stuttering and those with typical speech development. These processes will be studied in both adults and children. Additionally, these processes will be investigated in patients with neurodegenerative speech disorders (primary progressive aphasia) to further inform the investigators understanding of the neural mechanisms that support speech motor sequence learning. Together these experiments will result in an improved account of the brain mechanisms underlying speech production in fluent speakers and individuals who stutter, thereby paving the way for the development of new therapies and technologies for addressing this disorder.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2023

open study

A prospective, single-arm, multi-center study designed to gather additional information on the LimFlow System.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2022

open study

The reason for this study is to see if the study drug, selpercatinib, compared to placebo is effective and safe in delaying cancer return in participants with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who have already had surgery or radiation. Participants who are assigned to placebo and stop the study drug because their disease comes back or gets worse have the option to potentially crossover to selpercatinib. Participation could last up to three years.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2021

open study

This research study is studying a combination of drugs as a possible treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The names of the study drugs involved in this study are: - obinutuzumab - venetoclax - acalabrutinib

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2020

open study

This is a First-in-Human Phase IA/IB/II open label dose escalation study of intravenous (IV) administration of ONC-392, a humanized anti-CTLA4 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, as single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab in participants with advanced or metastatic solid tumors and non-small cell lung cancers.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2020

open study

In this single-center, longitudinal observational study, we will comprehensively examine clinical characteristics, proteomic, metabolomic, genomic and imaging data to better understand how different heart failure types may develop and progress over time. We will evaluate distinct sub-groups of heart failure (also known as heart failure phenotypes) and cardiomyopathies including amyloidosis with an ultimate goal of bringing the right medications and therapy to the right patients to optimize benefit and minimized side effects, an effort to improve precision medicine in heart failure.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Apr 2016

open study

This study will evaluate a new imaging technology, called optical coherence tomography (OCT) to examine the asthmatic airways before and after bronchial thermoplasty, which is a new treatment option for severe asthmatic patients. The aim of this study is to learn more about how airways respond to this new treatment. In the future the investigators hope OCT will aid clinicians in the initial assessment, management and long-term follow up of patients receiving bronchial thermoplasty.

Type: Observational

Start Date: May 2021

open study

The objective of this prospective, randomized, blinded clinical trial is to assess the safety and efficacy of the Carillon Mitral Contour System in treating heart failure with functional regurgitation (FMR).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2018

open study

This is an observational longitudinal study to determine the natural history and genotype-phenotype correlations of disease causing mutations in Charcot Marie Tooth disease (CMT) type 1B (CMT1B), 2A (CMT2A), 4A (CMT4A), and 4C (CMT4C). The investigators will also be determine the capability of the newly developed CMT Pediatric Scale (CMT Peds scale) and the Minimal Dataset to measure impairment and perform longitudinal measurements in patients with multiple forms of CMT over a five year window

Type: Observational

Start Date: Apr 2010

open study

This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of delivering Resilience Training in multi-user virtual reality.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2020

open study

This research is being done to see if the study drug, elranatamab, reduces the risk of disease progression (worsening disease) after idecabtagene vicleucel in relapsed refractory multiple myeloma.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2024

open study

The proposed R21 project will attempt to further develop a novel intervention for posttraumatic stress symptoms inspired by the science of memory reconsolidation. Work in normal humans has shown that when a stable, consolidated memory is reactivated (i.e., retrieved) under appropriate conditions, it reverts to an unstable state, a process referred to herein as deconsolidation. In such a state, the memory is susceptible to the action of various "amnestic" agents that may inhibit its reconsolidation, thereby weakening it. The β-adrenergic blocker propranolol (PPNL) possesses such amnestic properties. More recent research has found that in order to initiate deconsolidation, there must be a prediction error, or mismatch, between what is expected and what occurs when the memory is reactivated. Prior placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials (PBO-RCT) from our laboratory have found that when propranolol is administered concomitant with the reactivation of a psychologically traumatic memory, the memory is weakened, as revealed by subsequent lower physiological (heart rate, skin conductance, facial electromyogram) responding during script-driven mental imagery. Clinical applicability was evaluated in a PBO-RCT, in which PTSD participants receiving propranolol underwent six weekly sessions of 10-20 min of "standard" (STD) traumatic memory reactivation stimulated by reading a narrative. At post-treatment, these participants showed a greater reduction of PTSD symptoms compared to participants who had taken PBO. The goal of the proposed study is to test whether intentionally incorporating innovative mismatch (MM) into traumatic memory reactivation can improve upon physiological responding during script-driven mental imagery. Participants will be randomized to one of 2 treatment arms: STD/PPNL and MM/PPNL. A baseline assessment will measure psychophysiological responsivity to script-driven mental imagery (target measure). PPNL will be administered 90-min prior to each of six weekly 10-20 min. traumatic memory reactivation sessions. In the MM condition, a different, unexpected mismatch (e.g., singing the narrative) will be incorporated into the reactivation. In the STD condition, the participant will read the narrative the same way each time. The focus of the R21 proposal will be to assess whether the MM/PPNL group shows lower subsequent physiological responses than the STD/PPNL group

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2023

open study

This is an open-label, non-randomized, Phase 1 study to determine the safety and tolerability of NC525. This study will also assess the clinical benefit in subjects with advanced myeloid neoplasms.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2023

open study