Boston University - Clinical & Translational Science Institute

This is a longitudinal study with regular quantitative assessments of all participants every six months for 3 years. The quantitative portion of the study will recruit couples, consisting of individuals over the age of 65 who are in a committed relationship. Both members of the couple must be willing to participate at baseline. The assessment is in two parts. In the first part, each member of the couple will be asked the following: demographic information, mental health history, self-reported physical and emotional health, measures of emotional and mental health, personality, relationship and attachment style, social support and self-efficacy. Then each member of the study couple will be asked a series of questions to determine whether they consider themselves a caregiver. If they do, individuals will be asked to respond to additional caregiver questionnaires. Follow-ups will occur every six months for the study couples for a total of three years from the baseline visit. Each visit, the entire assessment except for demographic questions, will be re-administered to each individual in the couple. At the end of each questionnaire battery, individuals will be screened for cognitive impairment and those who are in the middle to advanced stages of dementia will no longer participate. Recruitment will end when 600 individuals (300 couples,150 couples at each site) are enrolled in the longitudinal portion of the study. All study visits will be conducted virtually via Zoom or WebEx video conferencing. Analyses will be conducted to determine the association between changes in dyadic relationship and changes in mental health and cognitive outcomes, to elucidate how relationship characteristics impact health and well-being as perceived by each member of the dyad.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Apr 2021

open study

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether treatment with lecanemab is superior to placebo on change from baseline of the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite 5 (PACC5) at 216 weeks of treatment (A45 Trial) and to determine whether treatment with lecanemab is superior to placebo in reducing brain amyloid accumulation as measured by amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) at 216 weeks of treatment (A3 Trial). This study will also evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of lecanemab in participants enrolled in the Extension Phase.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2020

open study

Purpose: About 6.4% of the U.S. population suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma-focused psychotherapies are generally effective in PTSD, but responses vary greatly across individuals and PTSD subpopulations. Neurobiological factors impacted by life experiences, stress, and genetics can affect treatment responses. These factors can alter brain capacities needed to reprocess traumatic memories prevent them from triggering intensely distressing, disruptive, out-of-place responses. For example, during psychotherapy for PTSD, trauma memory activation engages two competing brain processes that affect recovery: "extinction" versus "reconsolidation" of trauma-related emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses. This study tests whether a single intravenous (IV) dose of allopregnanolone (Allo) compared to placebo (which is non-active): 1. promotes consolidation of extinction learning (sub-study 1) or 2. blocks reconsolidation physiological responses triggered by aversive memories (sub-study 2). The study also tests whether Allo compared to placebo affects retention of non-aversive memories.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2022

open study

The treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in an accessible manner represents an unmet need for those with cardiovascular disease (CVD), given that patients with CVD experience numerous barriers for in-person treatment engagement. The research plan for the proposed pilot project will entail: (1) open study of the acceptability of the digital intervention (N=5), followed by (2) recruitment and randomization of 90 individuals with a history of acute CVD events and clinical levels of GAD symptoms to dCBT or a waitlist (Control) condition, using a 1.5:1 allocation (dCBT:Control).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2022

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rapcabtagene autoleucel (administered once following lymphodepletion) versus Standard of Care (SOC) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with active, refractory lupus nephritis (LN).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2024

open study

Life-threatening mass effect (LTME) arises when brain swelling displaces or compresses crucial midline structures subsequent to acute brain injuries (ABIs) like traumatic brain injury (TBI), ischemic stroke (IS), and intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH), which can manifest rapidly within hours or more gradually over days. Despite advancements in surgical management, significant gaps in understanding persist regarding optimal monitoring and therapeutic approaches. The current standard for identifying LTME involves neurologic decline in conjunction with radiographic evidence or increased intracranial pressure (ICP) indicating space-occupying mass effect. However, in critically ill patients, reliance on subjective physical exam findings, such as decreased arousal, often leads to delayed recognition, occurring only after catastrophic shifts have already occurred. The goal of this study is to determine the association of non-invasive biomarkers with neurologic deterioration, and to determine whether non-invasive biomarker inclusion improves detection of outcome and decline. The investigators propose to use various non-invasive methods to monitor ICP as adjuncts in detecting deteriorating mass effect. These methods include quantitative pupillometry, radiographic data, laboratory data, and other bedside diagnostic tests available including electroencephalography (EEG), skull vibrations detected via brain4care device, optic nerve sheath diameter assessment (ONSD), and ultrasound-guided eyeball compression. Some of these methods will be measured *only* for the purposes of the research study (such as skull vibrations via brain4care). Other measurements, such as quantitative pupillometry, will represent additional measurements beyond those already being collected for clinical care. This research study is necessary to understand the association of these non-invasive biomarkers with neurological decline and outcomes while considering potential confounding factors.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2024

open study

The study will look at the effects of NNC0194-0499, cagrilintide and semaglutide, on liver damage and alcohol use in participants with alcoholic liver disease. Participants will get NNC0194-0499, semaglutide, cagrilintide or ''dummy" medicine in different treatment combinations. Which treatment participants get is decided by chance. The study will last for about 39 weeks.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

In children 4 to 7 years of age, to determine if treatment with 1 hour per day 6 days per week of watching dichoptic movies/shows wearing the Luminopia headset is non-inferior to treatment with 2 hours of patching per day 7 days per week with respect to change in amblyopic eye distance VA from randomization to 26 weeks.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2024

open study

The liver produces a protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT). AAT is normally released into the bloodstream. In some people, the liver makes an abnormal version of the AAT protein, called Z-AAT. Making an abnormal version of the AAT protein can result in liver disease as Z-AAT builds up in liver cells, which leads to liver problems such as liver scarring (fibrosis), continuing liver damage (cirrhosis), and eventually endstage liver disease. Fazirsiran is a medicine that reduces the creation of the Z-AAT protein and thus the build-up of this abnormal protein in the liver. People with this type of liver disease who already have mild liver scarring will take part in the study. They will be treated with fazirsiran or a placebo for about 2 years. This study will check the long-term safety of fazirsiran, whether participants tolerate the treatment and if there are any effects on liver scarring. A liver biopsy, a way of collecting a small tissue sample from the liver, will be taken twice during the study.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2024

open study

Immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis is the most common form of systemic amyloidosis. AL amyloidosis has many root causes and is characterized by the overproduction of AL that are secreted by clonal bone marrow plasma cells. This is a study to determine adverse events and change in disease activity in adult participants with AL amyloidosis treated with ABBV-383. ABBV-383 is an investigational drug being developed for the treatment of AL amyloidosis. This study in broken into 2 parts (dose escalation and safety expansion) with 5 arms. During dose escalation (arms 1-3) participants will receive 1 of 3 doses of ABBV-383 to determine the part 2 doses. After completion of the dose escalation portion of the study, the safety expansion (part 2) portion of the study will begin. Two arms (arm 4-5) will begin and participants will receive 1 of 2 doses as determined during the dose escalation portion (part 1). Around 76 adult participants with relapsed/refractory AL amyloidosis will be enrolled at approximately 20 sites across the world. Participants will receive ABBV-383 as an infusion into the vein for up to approximately 2 year study duration. There may be higher treatment burden for participants in this trial compared to their standard of care. Participants will attend regular visits during the study at a hospital or clinic. The effect of the treatment will be checked by medical assessments, blood tests, checking for side effects and questionnaires.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2024

open study

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a single dose of NTLA-2001 compared to placebo in participants with ATTR-CM.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to assess if adding LY3537982 in combination with standard of care anti-cancer drugs is more effective than standard of care in participants with untreated advanced NSCLC. NSCLC must have a change in a gene called KRAS G12C. Study participation, including follow-up, could last up to 3 years, depending on how you and your lung cancer are doing.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

The goal of this clinical study is to learn how safe and effective it is to switch to an oral therapy of Bictegravir/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir (B/F/TAF) from Cabotegravir + Rilpivirine (CAB+RPV) in participants living with virologically suppressed human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), meaning participants with HIV RNA levels below detectable levels. The primary objective of this study is to assess the safety of switching to B/F/TAF in virologically suppressed participants unable/unwilling to continue on CAB+RPV intramuscular (IM) injections or wishing to switch to oral therapy through Week 12.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

Primary objective: To identify older adults with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) early in the course of the illness, at a time when disease modifying therapies are most effective. The specific aims of this epidemiologic investigation include: 1. To identify subjects with previous lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) Surgery who have evidence of transthyretin (TTR) amyloid deposits in spinal specimens and could be at risk for ATTR cardiac amyloidosis. 2. To evaluate for ATTR-CA among those with localized TTR in the spinal tissue. The study will also explore the following: 1. The prevalence of amyloid in lumbar spinal stenosis specimens by Congo Red staining. 2. The prevalence of TTR deposits among subjects with amyloid as determined by mass spectrometry. 3. Evaluation of a novel artificial intelligence technique for that can identify amyloid histologically with standard H&E staining. 4. Difference in ATTR-CA prevalence between subjects with TTR and indeterminate amyloid deposits in subject's spine by myocardial uptake of technetium pyrophosphate scan (Tc99-PYP).

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adjuvant autogene cevumeran plus atezolizumab and modified leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (mFOLFIRINOX) versus mFOLFIRINOX alone in participants with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) who have not received prior systemic anti-cancer treatment for PDAC and have no evidence of disease after surgery.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2023

open study

REACT-AF is a multicenter prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint (PROBE design), controlled trial comparing the current Standard Of Care (SOC) of continuous Direct Oral Anticoagulation (DOAC) use versus time-delimited (1 month) DOAC guided by an AF-sensing Smart Watch (AFSW) in participants with a history of paroxysmal or persistent Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and low-to-moderate stroke risk.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

The phase III trial compares the effect of pembrolizumab to observation for the treatment of patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer who achieved a pathologic complete response after preoperative chemotherapy in combination with pembrolizumab. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. This trial may help researchers determine if observation will result in the same risk of cancer coming back as pembrolizumab after surgery in triple-negative breast cancer patients who achieve pathologic complete response after preoperative chemotherapy with pembrolizumab.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2023

open study

This is a Phase 3, 2-arm, randomized, open-label, global, multicenter study comparing the efficacy of ripretinib to sunitinib in participants with GIST who progressed on first-line treatment with imatinib, harbor co-occurring KIT exons 11+17/18 mutations, and are without KIT exon 9, 13, or 14 mutations. Upon disease progression as determined by an independent radiologic review, participants randomized to sunitinib will be given the option to either crossover to receive ripretinib 150 mg QD or discontinue sunitinib.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

The main aim of this study is to learn if fazirsiran reduces liver scarring (fibrosis) compared to placebo. Other aims are to learn if fazirsiran slows down the disease worsening in the liver, to get information on how fazirsiran affects the body (called pharmacodynamics), to learn if fazirsiran reduces other liver injury (inflammation) and the abnormal Z-AAT protein in the liver, to get information on how the body processes fazirsiran (called pharmacokinetics), to test how well fazirsiran works compared with a placebo in improving measures of liver scarring including imaging and liver biomarkers (substances in the blood that the body normally makes and help show if liver function is improving, staying the same, or getting worse) as well as to check for side effects in participants treated with fazirsiran compared with those who received placebo. Participants will either receive fazirsiran or placebo. Liver biopsies, a way of collecting a small tissue sample from the liver, will be taken twice during this study.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2023

open study

This phase III trial compares the effect of modified fluorouracil, leucovorin calcium, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan (mFOLFIRINOX) to modified fluorouracil, leucovorin calcium, and oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX) for the treatment of advanced, unresectable, or metastatic HER2 negative esophageal, gastroesophageal junction, and gastric adenocarcinoma. The usual approach for patients is treatment with FOLFOX chemotherapy. Chemotherapy drugs work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Fluorouracil stops cells from making DNA and it may kill tumor cells. Leucovorin is used with fluorouracil to enhance the effects of the drug. Oxaliplatin works by killing, stopping, or slowing the growth of tumor cells. Some patients also receive an immunotherapy drug, nivolumab, in addition to FOLFOX chemotherapy. Immunotherapy may induce changes in body's immune system and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Irinotecan blocks certain enzymes needed for cell division and DNA repair, and it may kill tumor cells. Adding irinotecan to the FOLFOX regimen could shrink the cancer and extend the life of patients with advanced gastroesophageal cancers.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2023

open study

Scleroderma (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis (or collagen deposition) of the skin and internal organs. The extent of skin fibrosis is an important predictor of internal organ complications and increased mortality. Currently imprecise and subjective methods that varies amongst different doctors for the same patient are available to quantify skin fibrosis in patients, by "pinching" their skin and assessing how thick it is; this is the method used to determine the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS). Skin thickness and the amount of fibrosis can change over time due to disease progression or in response to therapy. In this research, longitudinal measurements will be taken to determine if spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) can detect changes in skin thickness that occur over time in response to therapy or from disease progression in scleroderma patients. This study will compare SFDI with other clinical outcome assessments of skin thickness and fibrosis in scleroderma patients including mRSS, skin biopsy histology, scleroderma skin patient reported outcome (SSPRO), ultrasound, and durometry (durometer measures skin hardness). SFDI information will also be compared with capillaroscopy (allows for non-invasive imaging of the nailfold capillaries) if available from the electronic medical record. If SFDI correlates well with other clinical outcome assessments, it may be used in the future as a rapid, non-invasive tool for monitoring disease activity in scleroderma patients.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of two different doses of ianalumab added to eltrombopag to prolong Time to Treatment Failure (TTF) in adults with primary ITP who failed previous first-line treatment with steroids.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2023

open study

This phase II trial compares the effect of irinotecan versus oxaliplatin after long-course chemoradiation in patients with stage II-III rectal cancer. Combination chemotherapy drugs, such as FOLFIRINOX (fluorouracil, irinotecan, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin), FOLFOX (leucovorin, fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan ), and CAPOX (capecitabin and oxaliplatin) work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. FOLFOX or CAPOX are used after chemoradiation as usual treatment for rectal cancer. Giving FOLFIRINOX after chemoradiation may increase the response rate and lead to higher rates of clinical complete response (with a chance of avoiding surgery) compared to FOLFOX or CAPOX after chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2022

open study

The main purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of LY3540378 in adults with worsening heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of teclistamab with PVd/Kd in Part 1 and to further characterize safety and efficacy of an alternative dosing for teclistamab in Part 2 in participants with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2023

open study