Mass General - Division of Clinical Research

This study is being done to better understand whether meal replacements can be an effective tool for weight loss and treatment of elevated blood sugars in people with obesity/overweight and diabetes/pre-diabetes who have a low income.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Apr 2023

open study

The goal of this study is to examine how whole-body hyperthermia affects the thermoinflammatory profile, which includes the combined immune and heat shock response, in patients with depression and whether these changes correlate with decreased depression in individuals with Major Depressive Disorder.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2022

open study

The goal of this observation study is to assess whether endoscopic ultrasound shear wave elastography (EUS-SWE) may be a useful tool for liver fibrosis screening in patients with elevated body mass index and non alcoholic fatty liver disease as compared to other non-invasive screening modalities, which have traditionally had less accurate results in this population. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Determine accuracy of EUS-SWE for liver fibrosis screening compared to other non-invasive scoring systems, such as the FIB-4 score and Fibroscan in patients with elevated body mass index - Establish optimal stiffness (kPa) cutoffs for liver fibrosis grading for EUS-SWE for this patient population in reference to the gold standard liver biopsy, as no standard cutoffs currently exist. Participants will undergo routine endoscopic ultrasound as part of their standard clinical care and indication. Participants are consented for the procedure and undergoing the shear wave elastography. In addition to their standard ultrasound test, it takes on average an extra 2-3 minutes to perform the shear wave elastography. The procedure itself adds no additional risk to the patient and does not expose them to radiation.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Jun 2021

open study

Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in surgical patients. National estimates suggest 1,062,000 PPCs per year, with 46,200 deaths, and 4.8 million additional days of hospitalization. The objective of the study is to develop and implement perioperative strategies to eliminate PPCs in abdominal surgery, the field with the largest absolute number of PPCs. We will conduct a randomized controlled pragmatic trial in 750 studied participants. The effectiveness of an individualized perioperative anesthesia-centered bundle will be compared to the usual anesthetic care in patients receiving open abdominal surgery. At the end of this project, the investigators expect to change clinical practice by establishing a new and clinically feasible anesthesia-centered strategy to reduce perioperative lung morbidity. The research will be conducted across 14 US academic centers, and will be funded by the National Institute of Health.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2020

open study

In this study, investigators will examine the brain mechanism behind the synergistic effects of combining acupuncture and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) treatments. Specifically, chronic low back pain (cLBP) patients will be recruited and randomized to one of four groups (30 per group, one month of treatment): 1) verum acupuncture + real tDCS, 2) sham acupuncture + real tDCS, 3) verum acupuncture + sham tDCS, and 4) sham acupuncture + sham tDCS. Investigators will study 1) the longitudinal (one-month) effects of different treatments as indicated by changes in resting state functional connectivity (rsFC), cerebral blood flow (CBF), clinical outcomes of low back pain, and quantitative sensory test (QST) and 2) the association between these changes.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2020

open study

Laser treatment of hypertrophic burn scars has become increasingly popular for improving scarring in burn survivors. Despite its common use, there a gap in knowledge regrading randomized control trials that demonstrate whether the laser is beneficial. Such a trial is important because if it shows the laser does work, it would provide the evidence to make such treatments more accessible to all patients. Furthermore, there is no knowledge whether the burn injury used to remove tissue is beneficial or not. This study aims to evaluate the laser treatment, removal of similar tissue amounts with 0.5mm punch biopsies, to controls to fill this knowledge gap. The hypothesis is the laser is beneficial at improving patient's burn scars. Also the punch biopsies work better at improving scars by removing tissue without burning and injuring the surrounding tissue as the laser does. To evaluate these treatments (laser, punch biopsies, and no treatment), 3 small areas will be chosen in a study scar area that meets specific criteria to receive . Patients will still be able to receive laser and burn reconstruction procedures in all other areas not involving the study scar area that are clinically indicated. In the study, the scar will be evaluated with photographs, surveys, and tissue samples taken either while under anesthesia except for one set taken with numbing medicine. The tissue samples will be looked at under a microscope to see how the treatments change the scar tissue. The tissue will also have tests done to evaluate how the laser impacts genes from cells in the scar tissue. Lastly, to understand how reconstructive procedures (laser and surgical treatments) change a patient's quality of life, patients will be asked a limited set of questions to learn more how these procedures improve their lives.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2019

open study

The study will consist of a 24-week-long trial examining outcomes in patients with Major Depressive Disorder and suicidal ideation who will receive intravenous (IV) ketamine and intranasal (IN) esketamine, compared to a large sample of matched historical controls. Patients will be recruited from an inpatient psychiatric unit. Eligible patients who provided informed consent will be enrolled in the study that will include a eight IV ketamine treatments, 13 esketamine treatment visits, seven long assessment visits, five short assessment visits, and daily surveys. The study will examine the feasibility, tolerability, and efficacy of repeated IV ketamine followed by esketamine, as well as predictors of treatment response.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2022

open study

The aim of this study is to investigate the modulation effects of Baduanjin (BDJ), a simple and innovative mind-body exercise, on cognitive function, resting state functional connectivity, and brain morphometry in individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). The results obtained will provide novel insights for improving the prevention of age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2020

open study

This study is an ancillary (add-on) study to the clinical trial entitled "Effect of Nitric Oxide in Cardiac Surgery Patients With Endothelial Dysfunction", which has Clinical Trials.gov identifier NCT02836899. NCT02836899 trial randomizes cardiac surgical patients to receive either Nitric Oxide (NO) or a placebo during and after cardiac surgery. This ancillary study aims to assess the effects of Nitric Oxide on vascular responsiveness and on endothelial function during hemolysis in patients with pre-operative endothelial dysfunction undergoing cardiac surgery requiring prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2018

open study

This trial will determine the clinical effectiveness of polygenic risk score testing among patients at high genetic risk for at least one of six diseases (coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, type 2 diabetes mellitus, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, or prostate cancer), measured by time-to-diagnosis of prevalent or incident disease over 24 months.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2020

open study

This research study is studying a combination of drugs as a possible treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma or Biliary Tract Cancer. The interventions involved in this study are: - Durvalumab - Tremelimumab - Radiation Therapy

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2018

open study

Determining how memory T helper type 2 (Th2) initiate recall responses to aeroallergens has the potential to change the therapeutic approach to allergic asthma, the most common asthma subtype. ~5-10% of effector Th2 cells recruited into the lung give rise to long-lived tissue resident memory cells that are poised to respond upon allergen re-exposure.Consequently, targeting memory Th2 cell activation is an attractive therapeutic strategy. However, it is not well understood how allergen inhalation initiates a memory Th2 cell response in the lung. The focus of this new study on the role of lung-resident memory Th2 cells in orchestrating the recall response to allergen in the lung, including the recruitment and activation of circulating Th2 cells, is a natural, timely and exciting extension of the investigators' ongoing Allergen Challenge Protocol.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2019

open study

This research study is studying a combination of drugs with radiation therapy as a possible treatment for Microsatellite Stable Colorectal Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, or MSI High Colorectal Cancer. The interventions involved in this study are: - Nivolumab - Ipilimumab - Radiation Therapy

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2017

open study

Fecal Incontinence (FI) affects 40 million Americans, predominantly women and elderly. It is a major health care burden, significantly impairs quality of life and psychosocial function. FI is characterized by multifactorial dysfunction including lumbosacral neuropathy, anorectal sensori-motor dysfunction, and abnormal pelvic floor-brain innervation. A critical barrier to progress in the treatment of FI is the lack of RCTs, absence of mechanistically based non-invasive therapies that modify disease, and a lack of understanding on how treatments affect pathophysiology of FI. Consequently, most current remedies remain ineffective. Our long-term goal is to address the problem of lack of effective treatments for FI by investigating treatments that modulate neuronal perturbations and thereby improve sensory and motor control, and to understand the neurobiologic basis of these treatments. Our central hypothesis is that a novel, non-invasive treatment consisting of Translumbosacral Neuromodulation Therapy (TNT), using repetitive magnetic stimulation, will significantly improve FI in the short-term and long-term, by enhancing neural excitability and inducing neuroplasticity. Our approach is based on compelling pilot study which showed that TNT at 1 Hz frequency, significantly improved FI, by enhancing bidirectional gut- brain signaling, anal sphincter strength and rectal sensation compared to 5 or 15 Hz. Our objectives are to 1) investigate the efficacy, safety and optimal dose of a new treatment, TNT, in a sham controlled, randomized dose-dependent study in 132 FI patients; 2) determine the mechanistic basis for TNT by assessing the efferent and afferent pelvic floor-brain signaling, and sensori-motor function; 3) identify the durability of treatment response and effects of TNT, and whether reinforcement TNT provides augmented improvement, by performing a long-term, sham controlled randomized trial. Our expected outcomes include the demonstration of TNT as a durable, efficacious, safe, mechanistically based, non-invasive, and low risk treatment for FI. The impact of our project includes a novel, disease modifying, non-invasive treatment, a scientific basis for this treatment, and improved understanding of the pathophysiology of FI and how TNT modifies bidirectional gut and brain axes and anorectal function. Ultimately, the knowledge generated by this project will provide new avenues for the development of innovative, evidence-based therapies for FI.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2019

open study

The study evaluates the effect of theophylline in 100 subjects with Pseudohypoparathyroidism.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2019

open study

This research study is studying proton radiation as a possible treatment for brain tumor that requires radiation. The radiation involved in this study is: -Proton Radiation

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2018

open study

This research study is a Phase I clinical trial. Phase I clinical trials test the safety of an investigational intervention. Phase I studies also try to define the appropriate dose of the investigational therapy to use for further studies. "Investigational" means that the intervention is still being studied and that research doctors are trying to find out more about it. Retroperitoneal sarcomas are soft tissue tumors located at the far back of the abdomen. Typically, patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas either have surgery for the removal of their tumors alone, or have their tumors removed, followed by standard radiation therapy, or have pre-operative radiation followed by surgery. When conventional radiation therapy is delivered after surgery, it can damage normal tissue. In this study, you will undergo proton beam radiation therapy or IMRT before undergoing surgery for the removal of your tumor. Proton radiation and IMRT are FDA approved radiation delivery systems. Protons are tiny particles with positive charge that can be controlled to travel a certain distance and stop inside the body. In theory, this allows better control of where the radiation dose is delivered as compared to photons. Since proton radiation is more targeted, it may help to reduce unwanted side effects from radiation. In this study, a standard dose of radiation will be given to the majority of the tumor, while a simultaneously integrated boost of additional radiation will be given to certain areas of the tumor identified as higher risk. This means that a higher radiation dose will be given to the higher risk areas of the tumor. The purpose of this study is to determine the highest dose of radiation therapy with protons or IMRT that can be delivered safely in patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas and the effectiveness of proton beam radiation therapy as an intervention for patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2012

open study

The purpose of this study is to find out whether the study drug, LY4052031, is safe, tolerable and effective in participants with advanced, or metastatic solid tumors including urothelial cancer. The study is conducted in two parts - phase Ia (dose-escalation, dose-optimization) and phase Ib (dose-expansion). The study will last up to approximately 4 years.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2024

open study

PROSPER trial is a trial to assess the efficacy of FNP-223 in slowing disease progression in participants with PSP as measured by the PSP Rating Scale (PSPRS) over 52 weeks and to assess the safety and tolerability of FNP-223 for 52 weeks in participants with PSP.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2024

open study

This Phase 2 clinical trial will study RVP-001, a new manganese-based MRI contrast agent, in people who are known to have gadolinium-enhancing central nervous system (CNS) lesions, for example stable brain tumors or multiple sclerosis. The goal of this study is to assess safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of RVP-001 at three dose levels. The study will also compare RVP-001 imaging to gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) imaging. A single dose of RVP-001 will be administered to each subject. Subjects will have known gadolinium-enhancing CNS lesions and will be due to have a routine gadolinium-based contrast agent-enhanced MRI of the brain a few days before receiving RVP-001 with imaging. The ultimate goal of this research program is development of a gadolinium-free alternative to current general purpose MRI contrast agents.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2024

open study

The objective of this randomized, surgically controlled, double-blinded, Phase 2 study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AAV2-GDNF delivered to the putamen in subjects with moderate Parkinson's Disease.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2024

open study

The primary purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of single intravenous (IV) doses of PGN-EDODM1 administered to participants with Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1). The study consists of 2 periods: A Screening Period (up to 30 days) and a Treatment and Observation Period (16 weeks).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

This clinical trial will study the effects of aficamten (versus placebo) on the quality of life, exercise capacity, and clinical outcomes of patients with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2023

open study

Crohn's disease (CD) is a long-lasting disease that causes severe inflammation (redness, swelling), in the digestive tract, most often affecting the bowels. It can cause many different symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea, tiredness, and weight loss. This study will assess how safe and effective risankizumab subcutaneous (SC) induction treatment is in treating moderately to severely active CD in adult participants. Risankizumab is an approved drug for adults with CD. This study comprises of a Period A, a Period B, and a Period C. In Period A, participants are placed in 1 of 2 groups to receive either risankizumab SC Dose A or Placebo. In Period B, based on response, participants will receive risankizumab SC Dose B or Placebo. Participants who do not have improvement in CD symptoms at Week 12 will receive risankizumab SC Dose C and participants with worsening CD symptoms in period B will receive risankizumab SC. In Period C, eligible participants will receive open-label risankizumab SC Dose D. Approximately 276 adult participants with a diagnosis of moderately to severely active CD will be enrolled in approximately 250 sites globally. Participants will receive SC induction treatment of risankizumab or matching placebo for up to 24 weeks in Period A and B followed by an open-label risankizumab extension in Period C for 52 weeks. The duration of the study will be approximately 93 weeks.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2023

open study

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of ecopipam tablets in children (greater than or equal to [>=] 6 and less than [<] 12 years of age), adolescents (>=12 and <18 years of age), and adults (>=18 years of age) with Tourette's Syndrome (TS).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2023

open study