Boston University - Clinical & Translational Science Institute

The COSMID (Comparison of Surgery and Medicine on the Impact of Diverticulitis) trial is a pragmatic, patient-level randomized superiority trial of elective colectomy vs. best medical management for patients with quality of life (QoL) limiting diverticular disease. A parallel observational cohort will include those who are disinclined to have their treatment choice randomized, but are willing to contribute information about their outcomes. The goal of the COSMID trial is to answer the question: For patients with QoL-limiting diverticular disease, is elective colectomy more effective than best medical management? The hypothesis being tested in the COSMID trial is that patient-reported outcomes (PROs) among patients in the surgery arm will be superior to those in the best medical management arm.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2019

open study

Although multiple treatments for OCD exist, slow symptom decrease, high remission, and significant side effects for some OCD patients limit their efficacy. More research into the precise neural mechanisms and linked cognitive functions in OCD is also necessary. To address both concerns, this study by Dr. Reinhart and his team will test a new, non-invasive, and well-tolerated neuromodulation method for reducing OCD symptoms, based on reward-related rhythms of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC; a brain region responsible for reward, decision making and other crucial functions that is affected by OCD). This proposal is based on highly encouraging preliminary data in both subsyndromal and treatment-resistant populations that shows rapid reductions in OCD behaviors that last at least 1-3 months. Using high-definition transcranial alternating current stimulation (HD-tACS) guided by EEG brain wave recordings, the study will test whether repetitive modulation of relevant rhythm activity in the OFC can lead to rapid (within five days) and sustainable (up to three months) OCD symptom reduction. This research aims to increase knowledge of OCD and development of effective treatment with minimal side effects.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2024

open study

In this study, researchers will learn more about a study drug called litifilimab (BIIB059) in participants with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study will focus on participants who have active disease and are already taking standard of care medications. These may include antimalarials, steroids, and immunosuppressants. The main objective of the study is to learn about the effect litifilimab has on lowering the activity of the disease. The main question researchers want to answer is: - How many participants have an improvement in their symptoms after 52 weeks of treatment? Researchers will answer this and other questions by measuring the symptoms of SLE over time using a variety of scoring tools. These include the SLE Responder Index (SRI), the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-2000 (SLEDAI-2K), and the Patient Global Assessment - Visual Analog Scale (PGA-VAS). Researchers will also learn more about the safety of litifilimab. They will study how participants' immune systems respond to litifilimab. Additionally, they will measure the effect litifilimab and SLE have on the quality of life of participants using a group of questionnaires. The study will be done as follows: - After screening, participants will be randomized to receive either a high or low dose of litifilimab, or placebo. A placebo looks like the study drug but contains no real medicine. - All participants will receive either litifilimab or placebo as injections under the skin once every 4 weeks. The treatment period will last 52 weeks. Participants will continue to take their standard of care medications. - Neither the researchers nor the participants will know if the participants are receiving litifilimab or placebo. - There will be a follow-up safety period that lasts up to 24 weeks. - In total, participants will have up to 22 study visits. The total study duration for participants will be up to 80 weeks.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2021

open study

The purpose of this clinical trial is to learn about the safety, extent of the side effects, and immune responses of the study vaccine (called variant-adapted BNT162b2 RNA-based vaccine) in healthy children. The trial is divided into 5 individual studies or substudies based on age group and prior history of COVID-19 vaccinations. All participants in each of the 5 sub-studies will receive study vaccine as a shot depending on what group they are in. - Substudy A design: Phase 1 includes participants 6 months through less than 4 years 3 months of age who have not received a previous coronavirus vaccination (COVID-19 vaccine naïve) and will receive 3 doses of study vaccine as their initial series, followed by a fourth dose of study vaccine. Phase 2/3 includes participants 6 months through less than 5 years of age who have not received a previous coronavirus vaccination (COVID-19 vaccine naive) and will receive 1, 2, or 3 doses of study vaccine, depending on what group they are in. - Substudy B design: includes participants 6 months through less than 5 years of age who have either received 2 or 3 prior doses of BNT162b2 and will receive study vaccine as their third or fourth dose. - Substudy C design: Phase 1 includes participants 6 months through less than 5 years of age who have received 3 prior doses of BNT162b2 and will receive study vaccine as their fourth dose. - Substudy D design: includes participants 5 through less than12 years of age who have received 2 or 3 prior doses of BNT162b2 and will receive study vaccine as their third or fourth dose. - Substudy E design: includes participants 2 through less than 12 years of age who have not received a previous coronavirus vaccination (COVID-19 vaccine naive) and will receive a single dose of study vaccine.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2022

open study

Anxiety-, obsessive-compulsive and trauma- and stressor-related disorders reflect a significant public health problem. This study is designed to evaluate the predictive power of a novel biomarker based on a CO2 challenge, thus addressing the central question "can this easy-to-administer assay aid clinicians in deciding whether or not to initiate exposure-based therapy?"

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2022

open study

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

This phase III trial compares less intense hormone therapy and radiation therapy to usual hormone therapy and radiation therapy in treating patients with high risk prostate cancer and low gene risk score. This trial also compares more intense hormone therapy and radiation therapy to usual hormone therapy and radiation therapy in patients with high risk prostate cancer and high gene risk score. Apalutamide may help fight prostate cancer by blocking the use of androgen by the tumor cells. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Giving a shorter hormone therapy treatment may work the same at controlling prostate cancer compared to the usual 24 month hormone therapy treatment in patients with low gene risk score. Adding apalutamide to the usual treatment may increase the length of time without prostate cancer spreading as compared to the usual treatment in patients with high gene risk score.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2020

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 current study tests the feasibility and effectiveness of a youth intervention designed to provide meaningful leadership opportunities and to address barriers to equity, through the acquisition of civic leadership and development skills as well as mindfulness practice, LEAP: Leadership, Engagement, and youth Activism Program with Mindfulness. The goal of this project is to determine whether the Leadership, Engagement, and youth Activism Program with Mindfulness (LEAP) curriculum, which was developed with youth of color, is a feasible and effective intervention for fostering civic leadership, civic development, and wellbeing. The investigators seek to understand whether LEAP can support wellbeing for youth of color as a strategy to increase youth mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health and decrease health disparities in youth of color.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2024

open study

Intimate partner violence (IPV), specifically physical and psychological aggression toward an intimate partner, represents a public health crisis that affects millions of Americans each year. There currently exists very little evidence from randomized controlled trials for the effectiveness of abuser intervention programs designed to prevent and end perpetration of IPV in the general population. This is troubling considering that approximately half a million men and women are court-mandated to these programs each year. The investigators will conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) investigating the efficacy of the Strength at Home (SAH) intervention in reducing intimate partner violence (IPV). The overarching aim of this study is to test the efficacy of SAH with court-involved-partner-violent men through an RCT comparing those who receive SAH with those who receive other standard IPV interventions offered in the state of Washington (treatment as usual- TAU). The specific aims are: 1.1: Compare the frequency of physical and psychological IPV, the primary outcomes of interest, across conditions as reported by the male participants and their intimate partners across Time 1 (baseline) and four 3-month follow ups (Times 2-5). It is expected that greater reductions in IPV frequencies will be evidenced in SAH than TAU over the course of the year. 1.2: Compare symptoms of PTSD, alexithymia, and alcohol use problems across conditions and assessment time points as reported by the male participants. It is expected that greater reductions in these symptoms will be evidenced in SAH than TAU over the course of the year. 1.3: Compare treatment satisfaction across conditions as reported by the male participants across the four 3-month follow ups (Times 2-5). It is expected that treatment satisfaction will be higher in SAH than TAU.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2024

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether IBD patients have better disease outcomes and feel more empowered to manage their condition if they have access to text messaging with their clinical team and if their symptoms are more regularly monitored through text-based surveys. Researchers will compare participants who have access to text-based monitoring, communication and education to participants who have access to text-based education alone. Researchers will also examine if different social and other non-medical factors impact IBD symptoms and quality of life. All participants will: - complete 5 brief on-line surveys over 12 months about their IBD and social risk factors, - receive IBD education content by text message up to 2 times a week. Some participants will also: - receive additional surveys by text to monitor their IBD progression, - have the opportunity to directly text message their IBD medical team.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 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

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

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

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

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

The primary objective is to establish the efficacy of intra-arterial (IA) mechanical thrombectomy (MT) with extracranial proximal carotid artery acute stenting versus non-stenting approaches in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) from intracranial vessel occlusion (IVO) in the anterior circulation and have a proximal carotid occlusive disease (occlusion or severe stenosis).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to determine the effects of an adapted family-centered autism transition intervention called Transitioning Together/Juntos en la Transición on meaningful outcomes for families. The study will occur in a safety net hospital setting. The adapted version of this multi-family group psychoeducation intervention is delivered across one individual family joining session and four 2.5 hour multi-family group sessions. The parent and youth groups are held in separately, at the same time.

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

The purpose of this study is to assess the anti-tumor activity and safety of amivantamab which will be administered as a co-formulation with recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20) (subcutaneous co-formulation [SC-CF]) in combination treatment (all cohorts except Cohort 4) and to characterize the safety of amivantamab SC-CF (Cohort 4).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2022

open study

The purpose of the study is to compare the efficacy of talquetamab subcutaneous(ly) (SC) in combination with daratumumab SC and pomalidomide (Tal-DP) and talquetamab SC in combination with daratumumab SC (Tal-D), respectively, with daratumumab SC in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone (DPd).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2022

open study

A Phase 2 study to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and microbiota changes of VE202 in patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis (UC).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2023

open study

In this study, researchers will learn more about a study drug called BIIB122 in participants with early-stage Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study: - Participants will take 225 milligrams (mg) of BIIB122 or a placebo as tablets by mouth. A placebo looks like the study drug but has no real medicine in it. - Participants will take BIIB122 or placebo 1 time a day for up to a minimum of 48 weeks and a maximum of 144 weeks. - Certain medications for PD will be allowed at enrollment for a subset of participants. - Participants will have to visit at 2-week intervals between baseline and week 12 and at 4-week intervals between week 12 and week 48 and at 12 week intervals between week 48 and week 144. The main question researchers are trying to answer is if taking BIIB122 slows the worsening of symptoms more than placebo in the early stages of PD. To help answer this question, researchers will use a questionnaire called the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, also known as the MDS-UPDRS. Researchers will use the MDS-UPDRS to learn about participant PD symptoms and how they affect their daily life. Researchers will also learn more about the safety of BIIB122.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2022

open study