Boston University - Clinical & Translational Science Institute

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a sensor device called an Automatic Ingestion Monitor (AIM) that is worn on eyeglasses can be used with a smartphone to change eating behavior. Participants will wear the device for one week of no-intervention observation. They will then test behavioral interventions focused on eating for two weeks. The researchers hypothesize that messages sent to a smartphone that are based on information from the AIM can reduce the amount of food that is eaten and slow eating.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2024

open study

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the functionality and usability of Indivi mobile application-based cognitive activities in people with mild cognitive impairment/mild Alzheimer's disease (PwMCI/AD) and healthy controls (HC). This application uses a dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) system that customizes the level of the cognitive activities to each user. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Does the DDA system reach a stable difficulty level at the same rate for both PwMCI/AD and HC? - Is the stable difficulty level reached by the DDA system different for PwMCI/AD compared to HC? Researchers will also compare cognitive activities results and other aspects of the mobile application's performance to see if the application can validly distinguish between the two groups. Participants will use the Indivi mobile application, with its embedded DDA system, for a 6-week period.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2025

open study

Adolescent (ages 10-19) overdose deaths are the third leading cause of pediatric death and continue to rise in the United States. Healthcare providers have regular and trusted relationships with youth and have experience in providing public health injury prevention counseling. Youth have different motivations for using drugs, and many who experience fatal overdose do not have a history of opioid use. Primary care pediatric providers regularly provide developmentally appropriate injury prevention counseling for leading causes of pediatric fatal and nonfatal injury such as drowning prevention and firearms safety. However, there are no recommended, evidence-based overdose prevention interventions for youth, including in health care settings, even though research supports pediatricians and youth-serving clinicians providing harm reduction strategies such as naloxone distribution and overdose education. Among adults, overdose prevention education reduces overdose, is cost-effective, and can be learned by laypersons. Content commonly includes awareness of fentanyl in the drug supply, risk reduction (e.g., not using alone, risks of polysubstance use), and how to recognize and respond to an overdose, including the use of naloxone. This study is a pilot two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a brief overdose prevention education intervention that will be developed in collaboration with the Community Advisory Board (CAB). The primary outcome of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the brief youth overdose prevention intervention as measured by provider feasibility and acceptability as well as youth acceptability.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2025

open study

This study aims to check how safe and well-tolerated a second dose of RSVpreF is when given during later pregnancies, and to see how long the immunity lasts from a single dose given during a previous pregnancy by examining the blood of nonpregnant participants who had the vaccine before.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2025

open study

The main goal of this trial is to study the frequency and severity of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in participants with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who are using a combination of glofitamab + gemcitabine + oxaliplatin (Glofit-GemOx) followed by glofitamab-only treatment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2025

open study

The primary purpose of the study is to assess how well amivantamab in combination with lazertinib or in combination with chemotherapy works (antitumor activity) in participants with epidermal growth factor receptor mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; that is one of the major types of lung cancer).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2024

open study

The main purpose of Part 1 of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of 3 dose levels of Pirtobrutinib in participants with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), who have received 1-3 lines of treatment including a covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. The purpose of Part 2 of this study is to evaluate pirtobrutinib monotherapy in participants with treatment-naïve CLL/SLL with 17p deletions. Participation in Part 1 is expected to last approximately 3 years. Participation in Part 2 is expected to last up to 2 years.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of elacestrant versus standard endocrine therapy in participants with node-positive, Estrogen Receptor-positive (ER+), Human Epidermal Growth Factor-2 negative (HER2-) early breast cancer with high risk of recurrence.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2024

open study

STEP is a Randomized, Multifactorial, Adaptive Platform trial that seeks to optimize the care of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large (LVO) or medium vessel occlusions (MVO).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

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 end stage 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

The purpose of this study is to assess if adding LY3537982 (olomorasib) 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 purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy and safety of glofitamab in combination with polatuzumab vedotin plus rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (Pola-R-CHP) vs Pola-R-CHP in participants with previously untreated CD20-positive large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

This phase III trial compares the effect of adding a stem cell transplant with melphalan after completing chemotherapy with daratumumab, cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (Dara-VCD) versus chemotherapy with Dara-VCD alone for treating patients with newly diagnosed amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis. Melphalan is a chemotherapy given prior to a stem cell transplant. Giving chemotherapy before a peripheral blood stem cell transplant helps kill cancer cells in the body and helps make room in the patient's bone marrow for new blood-forming cells (stem cells) to grow. The stem cells are then returned to the patients to replace the blood forming cells that were destroyed by the chemotherapy. Daratumumab is in a class of medications called monoclonal antibodies. It binds to a protein called CD38, which is found on some types of immune cells and cancer cells, including myeloma cells. Daratumumab may block CD38 and help the immune system kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs, such as cyclophosphamide and bortezomib, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Dexamethasone is in a class of medications called corticosteroids. It is used to lower the body's immune response to help stop the growth of cancer cells. Giving a stem cell transplant with melphalan after Dara-VCD may kill more cancer cells in patients with newly diagnosed AL amyloidosis.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2024

open study

This phase II/III trial examines whether patients who have undergone surgical removal of bladder, kidney, ureter or urethra, but require an additional treatment called immunotherapy to help prevent their urinary tract (urothelial) cancer from coming back, can be identified by a blood test. Many types of tumors tend to lose cells or release different types of cellular products including their DNA which is referred to as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) into the bloodstream before changes can be seen on scans. Health care providers can measure the level of ctDNA in blood or other bodily fluids to determine which patients are at higher risk for disease progression or relapse. In this study, a blood test is used to measure ctDNA and see if there is still cancer somewhere in the body after surgery and if giving a treatment will help eliminate the cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab and relatlimab, can help the body's immune system to attack the cancer, and can interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. This trial may help doctors determine if ctDNA measurement in blood can better identify patients that need additional treatment, if treatment with nivolumab prolongs patients' life and whether the additional immunotherapy treatment with relatlimab extends time without disease progression or prolongs life of urothelial cancer patients who have undergone surgical removal of their bladder, kidney, ureter or urethra.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2024

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

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

The primary aim is to test whether abatacept, as compared to placebo, is associated with a reduction in major adverse cardiac events (MACE) among participants hospitalized with myocarditis secondary to an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). The primary outcome, MACE, is a composite of first occurrence of cardiovascular death, non-fatal sudden cardiac arrest, cardiogenic shock, significant ventricular arrythmias, significant bradyarrythmias, or incident heart failure.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2022

open study

This is a Phase 3, multicenter, 52-week, outpatient, open-label extension (OLE) study to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of adjunctive KarXT in subjects with schizophrenia with an inadequate response to their current antipsychotic treatment who previously completed the treatment period (Visit 8/Day 42 ± 3) of ARISE Study (KAR-012). The primary objective of the study is to assess the long-term safety and tolerability of adjunctive KarXT (a fixed dose combination of xanomeline and trospium chloride twice daily [BID]) in subjects with schizophrenia.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2022

open study

The primary goal of the trial is to determine if the experimental arms (rivaroxaban or ticagrelor or both) are superior to the clopidogrel arm for lowering the 1-year rate of ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, or vascular death.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2022

open study

This phase III trial compares the effect of stereotactic radiosurgery to standard of care memantine and whole brain radiation therapy that avoids the hippocampus (the memory zone of the brain) for the treatment of small cell lung cancer that has spread to the brain. Stereotactic radiosurgery is a specialized radiation therapy that delivers a single, high dose of radiation directly to the tumor and may cause less damage to normal tissue. Whole brain radiation therapy delivers a low dose of radiation to the entire brain including the normal brain tissue. Hippocampal avoidance during whole-brain radiation therapy (HA-WBRT) decreases the amount of radiation that is delivered to the hippocampus which is a brain structure that is important for memory. The drug, memantine, is also often given with whole brain radiotherapy because it may decrease the risk of side effects related to thinking and memory. Stereotactic radiosurgery may decrease side effects related to memory and thinking compared to standard of care HA-WBRT plus memantine.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2021

open study

Early life exposures may lead to adverse effects on health in later life. The Boston birth Cohort study is designed to study a broad array of early life factors and their effects on maternal and child health outcomes.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Oct 1998

open study

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is one of the most devastating complications following total joint arthroplasty (TJA) of the hip and knee. Standard of care (SOC) treatment includes surgery and antimicrobials. Morbidity and mortality remain high despite contemporary treatments. The human body is colonized by billions of organisms, collectively, the microbiome, which is central to healthy immune function. Microbiome disruption, dysbiosis, can impair the immune response to infection. Despite recent evidence that suggests dysbiosis may be implicated in PJI, the role of probiotics in the treatment of PJI is unknown. Perioperative probiotics have been demonstrated to be safe and effective for infection prevention in abdominal surgery. The investigators hypothesize that perioperative probiotics will reduce re-infection in patients treated for PJI. A multi-centered, randomized controlled trial (RCT) at two academic, tertiary care centers will be conducted to determine the impact of probiotics on recurrent infection following treatment for PJI. Controls will receive SOC; study patients will receive a probiotic, started shortly after the initiation of and for the duration of their antibiotic therapy + 7 days, in addition to SOC. Primary outcome is re-operation for recurrent infection within 1 year.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2025

open study

This study is to investigate the ability of LXE408 to reduce or remove the level of parasites in the blood of people with chronic Chagas disease. Participants must have chronic Chagas disease without severe organ dysfunction.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2025

open study

This study is conducted to confirm whether etavopivat works well at reducing the number of Vaso-occlusive crisis VOCs (sickle cell pain crises) caused by obstructions in blood vessels in adults and adolescents living with sickle cell disease. The study will also evaluate how well etavopivat can reduce the damage to different organs, improve your exercise tolerance and reduce fatigue in people with sickle cell disease.The participants will either get etavopivat or placebo. Which treatment the participants will get is decided by chance. Etavopivat is a new medicine and is currently being tested in other studies in addition to this one. The study will last for about 2 years.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2025

open study

This Phase III, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, treat-through study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Afimkibart (RO7790121) compared with placebo in participants with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2024

open study