Boston, MA Paid Clinical Trials

This phase III trial compares the combination of four drugs (daratumumab, bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone) to the use of a three drug combination (daratumumab, lenalidomide and dexamethasone). Bortezomib may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Chemotherapy drugs, such as lenalidomide, 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. Daratumumab is a monoclonal antibody that may interfere with the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as dexamethasone lower the body's immune response and are used with other drugs in the treatment of some types of cancer. Adding bortezomib to daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone may be more effective in shrinking the cancer or preventing it from returning, compared to continuing on daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone. Read Less

This study is designed to evaluate whether epigenetic markers in overweight men with type 1 diabetes (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) can be improved with a 3 month lifestyle intervention or program focused in glycemic intervention. Read Less

This phase III trial studies how well lenalidomide and dexamethasone works with or without daratumumab in treating patients with high-risk smoldering myeloma. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as lenalidomide and dexamethasone, 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. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as daratumumab, may induce changes in the body's immune system and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving lenalidomide and dexamethasone with daratumumab may work better in treating patients with smoldering myeloma. Read Less

This phase II trial investigates how well biomarkers on PET/CT imaging drive early discontinuation of anti-PD-1 therapy in patients with stage IIIB-IV melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable). Anti-PD-1 therapy has become a standard therapy option for patients with unresectable melanoma. This trial is being done to determine if doctors can safely shorten the use of standard of care anti-PD1 therapy for melanoma by using biomarkers seen on PET/CT imaging and tumor biopsy. Read Less

This study is a pragmatic clinical trial examining the comparative effectiveness of two stimulant medications (methylphenidate and amphetamine) in the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents with autism. Using a sequential, multiple assignment randomization trial (SMART) design the study will not only assess these two medications but also the role of an increasingly popular class of ADHD medication, the alpha-2 agonists. Findings from this study will help improve clinicians' approach to medication selection and reduce the repeated trials of multiple medications that are current standard care. Read Less

This study is designed to assess how healthy premenopausal women respond to different patterns of sleep loss at different times in the menstrual cycle. Read Less

Brown fat is a type of fat, found in both children and adults, which can produce heat and regulate the body's metabolism and energy use. White fat is the more common type of fat which is used to store extra calories. Understanding more about differences between brown and white fat may allow us to develop new approaches to improve the body's metabolism. Read Less

The overall objective of this proposal is to test version 3.0 of the Arthritis smartphone app in a 12-month interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) design which will allow us to observe possible differences in visit frequency between the pre-and post-intervention periods as well as between the concurrent control group and those who receive the app. Our central hypothesis is that introduction of the app will reduce visit numbers per month in the group receiving the app, compared with a concurrent control group. Read Less

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. Read Less

The study protocol is a single-arm, open label pilot study designed to evaluate the impact of PCSK-9 inhibition on coronary blood flow in patients with stable coronary artery disease. Patients with stable coronary artery disease will be recruited from the BWH Cardiovascular Medicine clinic and/or from the BWH Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory. A target sample size of 50 participants will undergo imaging with N-13 ammonia or Rubidium-82 positron emission tomography (PET) and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) before and after 12 months of PCSK-9 inhibition with Evolocumab to assess changes in myocardial blood flow, and plaque volume. To help account for physiological changes that may occur in myocardial blood flow and inflammatory biomarkers during the study period, we will also recruit a parallel control group of stable CAD patients who will undergo similar baseline and 12-month imaging and biomarker assessment. We plan to recruit 15 patients in the parallel control group. Read Less

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. Read Less

This is a randomized, pilot interventional study in participants with visual field deficit (VFD) caused by cortical lesion. Damage to the primary visual cortex (V1) causes a contra-lesional, homonymous loss of conscious vision termed hemianopsia, the loss of one half of the visual field. The goal of this project is to elaborate and refine a rehabilitation protocol for VFD participants. It is hypothesized that visual restoration training using moving stimuli coupled with noninvasive current stimulation on the visual cortex will promote and speed up recovery of visual abilities within the blind field in VFD participants. Moreover, it is expected that visual recovery positively correlates with reduction of the blind field, as measured with traditional visual perimetry: the Humphrey visual field test or an eye-tracker based visual perimetry implemented in a virtual reality (VR) headset. Finally, although results will vary among participants depending on the extent and severity of the cortical lesion, it is expected that a bigger increase in neural response to moving stimuli in the blind visual field in cortical motion area, for those participants who will show the largest behavioral improvement after training. The overarching goals for the study are as follows: Group 1a will test the basic effects of transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) coupled with visual training in stroke cohorts, including (i) both chronic/subacute ischemic and chronic hemorrhagic VFD stroke participants, and (ii) longitudinal testing up to 6 months post-treatment. Group 1b will test the effects of transcranial tRNS coupled with visual training on a Virtual Reality (VR) device in stroke cohorts, including both chronic/subacute ischemic and chronic hemorrhagic VFD stroke participants. Group 2 will examine the effects of tRNS alone, without visual training, also including chronic and subacute VFD stroke participants and longitudinal testing. Read Less