Clinical Trials

GoFresh is a randomized trial, testing the effects of a home-delivered DASH-patterned grocery intervention on blood pressure in Black adults, residing in Boston area urban food deserts.

The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability (e.g., enrollment, adherence, retention, acceptability of procedures and interventions) of a pilot factorial study design that will help elucidate components of mind-body exercise interventions. The study involves completing a walking program, a mindful attention program, a walking program that includes mindful attention, or no program at all. A "pilot" study is a smaller study that helps researchers to understand whether the study design can be carried out and what participants think about the study.

GoFreshRx is a randomized trial, testing the effects of a home-delivered DASH-patterned grocery intervention on blood pressure in Black adults actively treated for hypertension, residing in Boston area urban food deserts.

The goal of this interventional study is to compare standard mechanical ventilation to a lung-stress oriented ventilation strategy in patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Participants will be ventilated according to one of two different strategies. The main question the study hopes to answer is whether the personalized ventilation strategy helps improve survival.

This is an observational, prospective study of patients undergoing a surgical procedure. Three parallel studies are taking place with collaborators in other countries. This study aims to bring novel insights regarding the benefits of pre-oxygenation combining standard oxygen facemask with high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO), as opposed to standard oxygen facemask alone by assessing end-tidal oxygen (ETO2) levels after intubation.

This prospective cohort study seeks to determine if the ECHO-CT program, a healthcare videoconferencing program, can improve clinical outcomes while reducing cost and resource utilization when expanded to a community hospital setting. Data will be analyzed on the facility level and patient level.

This study is a waitlisted randomized controlled trial. We aim to assess the level of compliance for those learning the intervention and to evaluate the impact of the practice on neuropsychological and somatic outcomes using validated scales. Enrollment into the study will be ongoing until we are able to get a sufficient sample size as described in the "Statistical Consideration" section. Upon enrollment and randomization, surveys will be administered to both the intervention and control groups at four time-points: baseline, T2, T3, and T4, each of which are 6 weeks apart. Compliance data will be collected weekly for 12 weeks for both groups.

This study will examine the safety of clofarabine, TLI and ATG as a reduced conditioning regimen prior to allogeneic transplantation. The impact of the conditioning regimen on the presence of the circulating regulatory as compared to activated T cell populations will be assessed.The recovery of DC populations post-transplant will be examined, along with the effect of the regimen on disease free and overall survival.

This research study to determine the effectiveness of the AveCure Flexible Microwave Ablation Probe to destroy cancerous lung nodules up to 3 c m in size.

This research study involves microwave ablation (MWA)

This research study is studying a cancer vaccine called Dendritic Cell/AML Fusion vaccine (DC/AML vaccine) as a possible treatment for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML).

The interventions involved in this study are:

Dendritic Cell/AML Fusion vaccine (DC/AML vaccine)
Decitabine, a chemotherapy drug

The goal of this prospective observational cohort study is to validate previously developed Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) risk prediction algorithms, the Liver Risk Computation (LIRIC) models, which are based on electronic health records.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Will our retrospectively developed general population LIRIC models, developed on routine EHR data, perform similarly when prospectively validated, and reliably and accurately predict HCC in real-time?
What is the average time from model deployment and risk prediction, to the date of HCC development and what is the stage of HCC at diagnosis?

The risk model will be deployed on data from individuals eligible for the study. Each individual will be assigned a risk score and tracked over time to assess the model's discriminatory performance and calibration.

This study aims to investigate the effect of a 15-minute meditation practice on sleep architecture and high-frequency Heart Rate Variability (HF-HRV), as well as cognitive performance after both a well-rested and sleep-deprived night.

The goal of this observational study is to learn the how to determine the mean arterial pressure(MAP) or blood pressure level to be maintained during non-cardiac surgery for optimal brain health in patients above the age of 60 undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. The main question[s] it aims to answer are:

Is there a way to tailor the blood pressure to be maintained in such patients during surgery for optimal brain health using non-invasive monitors that check the brains electrical activity, the electroencephalogram(EEG) monitor, and the brain's blood oxygen levels, the cerebral oximetry(CO) monitor?
How much does this optimal blood pressure level vary between patients?

Participants will be asked to:

Complete a questionnaire at the time they enroll into the study, as well as a daily questionnaire to help determine their level of thinking and brain health. This questionnaire will be administered by a member of the study team.
They will also have an EEG and CO monitoring sticker placed on their foreheads. This will be connected to a monitor that will collect this data just before, during, and after their surgery. The data collected through these monitors will help us with our study goals.

Investigators will evaluate the efficacy of postoperative oral suvorexant treatment on nighttime wakefulness after persistent sleep onset (WASO) among adult cardiac surgical patients recovering in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU). The study include patients ≥ 60 years old undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), with or without valve surgery (aortic or mitral). Patients will receive either oral suvorexant or placebo for 7 nights starting the night after extubation. The primary hypothesis is that suvorexant compared with placebo decreases WASO, as measured by a specialized electroencephalogram (EEG), the SedLine monitor, during the first night in the cardiac ICU. Investigators will also assess total sleep time (TST), time to sleep onset (TSO), and postoperative delirium and delirium-free days.

This is a prospective observational study, the purpose of which is to:

Characterize response of the AV conduction system to TAVR with various prostheses by recording continuous His bundle electrograms during valve placement.
Correlate preprocedure ECG features with changes in AV nodal and infranodal conduction during placement of the valve prosthesis.
Correlate changes in AV nodal and infranodal conduction during the procedure with risk of developing AV conduction block after TAVR.
Assess the contribution of stressing the conduction system by atrial pacing prior to and following TAVR to prediction of postprocedural heart block.

Assess the correlation between new onset bundle branch block, site and degree of conduction block or delay and subsequent development of high-grade or complete AV block.

Acute hypoxemia is common and deadly in resource variable settings. While studies in high income countries (HICs) have indicated a possible benefit to high flow oxygen as compared with standard flow oxygen, rigorous studies in low or lower middle income countries (LMICs) have not been performed. Studies in sepsis have demonstrated that interventions that improve outcomes in one context may actually be neutral or harmful in a different context.

The goal of this study is to test whether high flow oxygen results in better outcomes for hypoxemic adult patients, as compared with standard flow oxygen, in five LMIC hospitals. The main questions it aims to answer are:

For hypoxemic adults in these LMIC study settings, does high flow oxygen or standard flow oxygen result in lower mortality?
What are the facilitators and barriers to using high flow oxygen in these settings?
Does high flow or standard flow oxygen use more oxygen?

Participants will be randomized to receive either high flow oxygen through a large nasal cannula, or to receive standard flow oxygen, through nasal cannulas, face masks, or non-rebreather masks. Researchers will compare the outcomes for the two groups, to see if one group of patients has better outcomes than the other.

The study will also examine how much oxygen is used by the two patient groups, as well as other factors relevant to the feasibility of implementation of high flow oxygen in these sites.

This trial is designed to study a combination of interventions (chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation) as a potential new treatment for bile duct cancer that cannot be removed with surgery.

The specific names of the interventions that will be used are:

Y-90 (a type of radiation microsphere bead)
Durvalumab (a type of immunotherapy)
Gemcitabine (a type of chemotherapy)
Cisplatin (a type of chemotherapy)

This study aims to assess the impact of brief digitally delivered breathing practice and guided meditation on post-Covid physical and mental symptoms in Long Covid Patients.

Using indocyanine green (ICG) lymphography and lymphoscintigraphy with SPECT/CT imaging, the aim is to evaluate the anatomy of the lymphatic system pathway in two separate populations: healthy female volunteers and women with a history of breast cancer who did not develop lymphedema.

The aim of this study is to test whether an educational pamphlet on mammography designed for women aged 75 and older improves older women's decision-making around mammography screening. The investigators aim to show that the educational pamphlet improves older women's knowledge of the pros and cons or screening and leads to fewer women in poor health with short life expectancy being screened.

The study is a randomized, proof of concept study. 30 patients aged 18 and over with HS will be included in this single center, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study. Dosage of deucravacitinib will be given according to the investigational regimen as follows: 6 mg po bid for 16 weeks. The study compromises a 4-week screening period, a 16-week study period, and a 4-week follow-up period. The follow-up period consists of a follow-up phone call 4 weeks after the last study drug dose.

In a randomized controlled trial, the investigators will test the effect of a novel strategy for breast cancer risk assessment and risk-based management of women in their 40s seen in primary care. The investigators anticipate that this approach will lead to more optimal use of mammography screening and breast cancer prevention interventions in women in their 40s and as a result will improve care of these women.

To compare two evidence-based treatments, Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET) and Social Skills Training (SST) that have been shown in meta-analyses and in our own research to be effective to improve community functioning. The investigators will test the impact of CET and SST on community functioning, with special attention to their relative effectiveness for patients differing in baseline cognitive skills and age. The research uses a cluster design in which different mental health service centers are randomized to one of the two treatments.

This projects studies the role of tai chi exercise and wearable fitness trackers to promote physical activity in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) survivors.

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate a decision aid to help women aged 70 and older decide on treatment for their breast cancer.

The purpose of this research is to determine whether BOTOX injections will reduce seizure frequency and severity. We chose to test its effects on epilepsy because epilepsy and migraine have common features so, are often treated with common drugs.

The purpose of this small-scale pilot study (10 patients) is to test the study protocol for an RCT comparing IVF outcomes between day 3 and day 5 embryo transfer in patients with five or fewer embryos in a fresh embryo transfer in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle. Information derived from this RCT would allow us to maximize the chances of success for these patients undergoing IVF.

The goal of this clinical trial is to conduct a single-arm pilot trial of a brief cognitive-behavioral therapy-enhanced benzodiazepine deprescribing intervention in 20 older adults (aged ≥65 years) prescribed chronic benzodiazepines by their primary care clinicians.

This is a randomized controlled trial with a mixed method design to determine the impact of coaching on self-perceived medical errors, burnout, and resilience. The study team developed a novel coaching curriculum based in principles of positive psychology and self-reflection with the hypothesis that the coaching intervention will lead to decreased medical errors, decreased burnout, and increased resilience in trainee and faculty participants. Resident and fellow trainees as well as faculty members were recruited across departments and randomized to coaching or control. Faculty in the coaching arm were trained in coaching techniques and paired with a trainee coachee. Survey results as well as focus groups will be used to analyze the impact of the coaching program as compared to standard mentorship (control).

The purpose of this research is to investigate whether addition of the EyeControl-Pro platform as an adjunct to standard guideline-based intensive care unit management of critically ill patients is effective in reducing delirium incidence and severity.

The purpose of this study is to understand better the mechanisms of action of calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) targeted monoclonal antibodies in migraine prevention. Specifically, the protocol will allow the investigators to determine whether the main site of action of this novel and recently-approved class of migraine prophylactic drugs act inside or outside the brain and if so, where.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) represents a critical health concern nationwide, with estimated 274,000 admissions annually and at a cost of 2.6 billion dollars. Current treatment strategies for AP are limited to supportive care with fluid resuscitation, analgesia, nutrition and prevention of end organ damage. Abdominal pain is often the predominant symptom in patients with AP and is treated with analgesics. As there is currently no disease-specific medical treatment to change the natural history of pancreatitis, pain control remains central to the treatment of AP. Among the analgesics, opioids have been shown to be provide safe and effective pain control in patients with AP. Current literature shows that there is no difference in the risk of pancreatitis complications or clinically serious adverse events between opioids and other analgesia options. Among hospitalized AP patients, adequate pain control often requires the use of intravenous (IV) opiates in the first 24-48 hours, which can later be transitioned to oral (PO) opioids. While there are various methods of delivering opioid medications such as IV, PO, and transdermal to name a few, IV opioids are commonly administered, either on a scheduled and/or on an as needed (PRN) basis as directed by the attending physician. In contrast to the conventional, method of physician directed IV opioid delivery, patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is a form of IV opioid medication delivery in which the patient can rapidly titrate the opioid dose to manage variable levels of pain. This modality of opioid administration is often preferred by patients and has been widely used in postsurgical and obstetric patients to effectively treat their pain. PCA allows for faster intervention on pain limiting time to treatment and peak pain levels and has also been shown to decrease total opioid dose. However, there is limited evidence in published literature assessing the feasibility of using PCA to treat the pain of AP or comparing its efficacy and safety profile compared to the more traditional physician directed analgesia. One retrospective study has shown that use of PCA was surprisingly associated with longer hospital stays and higher rates of outpatient opioid use when compared to routine physician-directed analgesia (PDA), however there are no prospective trials to study this comparison. Hence, in this study, the investigators will compare the effects of using PCA among patients with AP to that of conventional PDA.

This study aims to identify the molecular genetic causes of the variability in development of calcific aortic valve disease in bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valves and their associated aortic dilation.

The goal of the study is to gain a better understanding of the molecular changes responsible for causing prostate cancer and that examination of tissue and blood samples will help in the development of improved screening and therapeutic approaches.

Nearly 25% of Americans die in intensive care units (ICUs). Most deaths in ICUs are expected and involve the removal of ventilator support, or palliative withdrawal of mechanical ventilation (WMV). Prior work by the Principal Investigator (PI) found that patient suffering can be common; with 30-59% of patients going through this process experiencing distress. Thus, experts and national organizations have called for evidence to inform guidelines for WMV. This research study will 1) develop and refine a Comfort Measures Only Time out (CMOT) intervention consisting of a structured time out with check-list protocol for the ICU team (nurse, physician, respiratory therapist) to improve the process of WMV. and 2) Pilot test the CMOT intervention in 4 ICUs (2 medical/2 surgical) among 40 WMV patients.

This is a laboratory study where the investigators hope to look at chromosomal events implicated in bladder cancer.

This study will compare stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) as a bridging strategy for patients with HCC undergoing liver transplantation. We propose that SBRT will be associated with longer time intervals between initial treatment and the need for retreatment, compared to TACE, as a "bridge" to liver transplantation in subjects with HCC.

This study evaluates the influence of home air purification on the lung health of adults with eosinophilic COPD. Half of the participants will receive real air purifiers (HEPA filters) and half will receive sham air purifiers.

This research is being done to evaluate the feasibility of the AveCure Flexible Microwave destruction of tissue (Ablation) Probe for the treatment of malignant central airway obstruction using a thin, tube-like instrument with a light and a lens for viewing and removing tissue (bronchoscopic).

The name of the intervention being used in this research study is:

AveCure Flexible Microwave Ablation Probe (handheld, surgical device that delivers microwave energy via flexible probe tip)

The purpose of the study is to determine the optimal surgical approach (ventral vs dorsal) for patients with multi-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). There are no established guidelines for the management of patients with CSM, which represents the most common cause of spinal cord injury and dysfunction in the US and in the world.

This study aims to test the hypothesis that ventral surgery is associated with superior Short Form-36 physical component Score (SF-36 PCS) outcome at one year follow-up compared to dorsal approaches and that both ventral and dorsal surgery improve symptoms of spinal cord dysfunction measured using the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association Score (mJOA). A secondary hypothesis is that health resource utilization for ventral surgery, dorsal fusion, and laminoplasty surgery are different. A third hypothesis is that cervical sagittal balance post-operatively is a significant predictor of SF-36 PCS outcome.

The purpose of the project is to perform an RCT comparing patient satisfaction and outcome with or without the use of an expert panel. The purpose is also to create a registry to compare the effectiveness of decompression alone versus decompression with fusion for patients with degenerative grade I spondylolisthesis and symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis. Primary analysis will focus on the patients' improvement from baseline patient-reported outcome questionnaires.

In addition, the SLIP II registry aims to (i) develop an algorithm which could identify cases in which surgical experts are likely to recommend one treatment (i.e. >80% of experts recommend one form of treatment) and (ii) develop a radiology-based machine learning algorithm that would prospectively classify patients as either 'stable' or 'unstable.'

In addition to patient reported outcomes, step counts will be collected in order to determine the correlation of step count with patient-reported outcomes (ODI and EQ-5D) and the need for re-operation.

This registry portion of the study aims to prospectively collect comparative data for these patients treated with either decompression alone or decompression with fusion.

The purpose of this early study is to compare the clinical results of the new Conduit Interbody device to the traditional Concorde Bullet Device. The primary objective is to explore the rates and reasons for re-operation between both constructs at 2 years.

The investigators aim is to compare outcomes between an angled-tip guidewire and a straight-tip guidewire in cannulation of the common bile duct during ERCP. This is a randomized, controlled, single-blinded study. The primary outcome is success of cannulation and secondary outcomes are incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis, procedure duration, and rate of complication between the angled wire and straight wire.

A Prospective Comparative Study Of Monoclonal Antibodies For The Treatment Of Alzheimer's Disease

The goal of this study is to determine if a mind-body intervention can help people suffering from symptoms associated with Long COVID. The study is a randomized trial examining the effectiveness of a mind body intervention in reducing somatic symptoms from Long COVID in participants as compared to usual care and an active control (second mind body intervention). The investigators will secondarily investigate whether the intervention alleviates individual somatic complaints and improves daily functioning, relative to usual care and the active control

This is a single-center, cross-sectional study that will recruit approximately fifty (50) meditators and fifty controls. Individuals that have learned at least the Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya practice and live in Massachusetts will be mailed a DREEM EEG device, and a sleepimage ring. Participants will be asked to wear the two devices while sleeping for three consecutive weekday nights (Sunday night to Thursday night) and two weekend nights (Friday and Saturday nights). While meditating during the day, participants will only wear the DREEM EEG headband. Participants will also undergo neurocognitive tests from the NIH toolbox during one virtual visit via video call. Meditators who join the study will be asked to invite a control subject to the study, matched for age and comorbidities.

The objective of this study is to develop a rationale for the selective treatment of small fiber neuropathy with immune globulin (IVIG) in the appropriate patients.

The investigators hypothesize that individuals with auto-antibodies targeting neuronal antigens (TS-HDS and FGFR3) and confirmed evidence of small fiber neuropathy (by skin biopsy analysis of intra-epidermal nerve fiber density) will have an improvement in both nerve fiber density and pain after treatment with immune globulin.

The co-primary endpoints will be a change in neuropathic pain (by VAS pain score) and a change in intra-epidermal nerve fiber density (by punch skin biopsy).

The data gained from this pilot study will establish a rationale, with an appropriate screening test, for the use of immune globulin for the treatment of small fiber neuropathy.

The goal of this pilot study is to obtain preliminary data on the magnitude of the treatment effect of IVIG on the neuropathic pain and neuropathy severity associated with treatment induced neuropathy (TIND).

The investigators hypothesize that immune globulin, administered intravenously (IVIG), will reduce the pain associated with treatment induced neuropathy and reduce the neuropathy severity.

Treatment induced neuropathy in diabetes, is an iatrogenic complications of diabetes. The preliminary data will be used to power a larger treatment trial, and to aid the understanding of the mitigating factors in the treatment response.

Our objective is to find an effective prophylactic intervention by evaluating IV acetaminophen's impact in reducing the frequency of postoperative delirium, one of the most common and detrimental complications of cardiac surgery in older adults.

This project is a multicenter, three armed, prospective randomized control trial studying the effectiveness of a long-acting local anesthetic "cocktail" in patients undergoing operative fixation of ankle fractures.