Boston, MA Paid Clinical Trials

The DETECT AS Trial is a randomized clinical trial and quality improvement initiative that seeks to investigate the impact of electronic provider notification of severe aortic stenosis (AS) on its management, on the utilization of aortic valve replacement (AVR), and on ethnic and racial disparities in AVR utilization. After the investigators identify patients in whom echocardiography shows severe aortic stenosis, defined by an aortic valve area (AVA) \<1.0cm2, the ordering provider of the echocardiogram will then be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or to the control group. Providers randomly assigned to the intervention group will be sent an electronic (email or message via the electronic health record) physician notification for every one of their patients with severe aortic stenosis on TTE. Electronic notification will also highlight relevant ACC/AHA Clinical Practice Guideline recommendations regarding the management of severe AS. No intervention will be performed for patients belonging to physicians assigned to the control group. The primary endpoint will be AVR utilization, defined as the proportion of patients with a clinical indication for severe AS that undergo AVR. Clinical indications will be based upon the 2020 AHA/ACC Clinical Practice Guidelines for Valvular Heart Disease. Secondary end-points will be mortality, heart failure hospitalization, TTE utilization/surveillance, AS billing code diagnosis, and cardiology/Heart Valve Team referral. Pre-defined subgroup analyses will be performed to assess AVR utilization among women, racial/ethnic minority groups, low-gradient AS, cardiologist and non-cardiologist ordering provider, and inpatient and outpatient practice settings. Read Less

Although early interventions can improve health equity in young children living in poverty, this promise often is not realized because of barriers to family engagement. The proposed study will target co-morbid behavior and sleep problems in early childhood, comparing child outcomes and family response to sleep and behavior interventions and investigating the novel strategy of letting families select their intervention.We will enroll 500 low-income toddlers with co-morbid sleep and behavior problems, randomized to 4 parent coaching interventions: sleep, behavior, family choice (sleep or behavior), and an active control. At baseline and at 1, 5, and 9 months post- intervention, we will assess child sleep and behavior and family functioning. We will measure family preference, engagement, and perceived value of each intervention. The goals of the study are: (1) to examine effects of evidence- based sleep and behavior interventions in young low-income children with co-morbid sleep and behavior problems on child sleep and behavior and family functioning; (2) to determine whether parents prefer, engage with, and value a sleep or behavior intervention more; and (3) to examine if giving families a choice of intervention results in higher engagement, higher perceived value and better family and child outcomes than assignment to intervention. By informing best practices for engaging low-income families to treat co-morbid sleep and behavior problems, results will be critical to reducing health disparities for children living in poverty. Read Less

The investigators wish to better understand the role of the choriocapillaris (CC) in the formation and progression of non-exudative in age related macular degeneration (armd) by imaging the retinal pigment epithelium (rpe) and the choroidal microvasculature and by studying their inter-dependence to determine if the loss of the CC could prove useful as an anatomic clinical trial endpoint in future drug trials. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acalabrutinib in combination with venetoclax and acalabrutinib in combination with venetoclax with and without obinutuzumab compared to chemoimmunotherapy in subjects with previously untreated CLL. Read Less

In order to define distinct and reliable arterial 18Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) thresholds identifying patients at risk for cardiovascular events, patients with a history of myocardial infarction will be included in this international multicenter trial. Non-enhanced whole-body FDG PET/CT will be performed in all patients and the arterial FDG uptake in the carotid arteries as well as the aorta will be quantified by calculating different uptake parameters. In addition, FDG uptake in hematopoietic tissues (spleen, bone marrow), visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and different brain regions (e. g. amygdala) will be measured. Furthermore, specific blood biomarkers including genetic biomarkers, which are linked to atherosclerotic disease with predictive power for future cardiovascular events, will be analyzed in a subgroup of patients. In part 2 of the trial, a 4-year follow-up period will be analyzed with a focus on the prediction of cardiovascular events (acute coronary syndrome, non-fatal ischemic stroke, ischemic cardiac death, other causes of death, coronary/vascular revascularization, new-onset of angina, symptomatic peripheral arterial disease and heart failure). The predictive value of the arterial, hematopoietic and cerebral FDG uptake parameters as well as of the specific blood and genetic biomarkers will be determined. Read Less

The purpose of the HALT Biomarkers study are to identify a panel of circulating proteins that discriminates between patients with and without Hypo-Attenuated Leaflet Thickening (HALT) and can be used to supplement the diagnosis of HALT; to characterize changes in circulating proteins after treatment of HALT with systemic anticoagulation; and to identify circulating proteins that predict the occurrence of HALT. The study population will be adult patients undergoing transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for severe aortic stenosis (AS) or bioprosthetic valve degeneration. Enrollment will continue until 30 patients with HALT are identified for completion of phase 1. Based on a HALT incidence rate of 10%, we anticipate enrolling 300 patients. Patients are enrolled prior to undergoing transfemoral TAVR. Blood samples, clinical data and echocardiograms will be collected at the following timepoints: baseline (pre-TAVR, T0), post-TAVR (pre-discharge, T1), 30-day follow-up (window 3-9 weeks, T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3). Cardiac 4D CT will be performed at the 30-day follow-up visit to screen for the occurrence of HALT. Patients with HALT will be treated with systemic anticoagulation for 5-6 months, at which point a follow-up CT scan and blood sample will be obtained. Control subjects will also undergo a 6-month study visit with blood sample collection. The study will be conducted within two phases. Phase 1 will serve as a derivation / discovery study in which candidate protein biomarkers of HALT will be identified. Once this is successfully completed, a second cohort will be enrolled within phase 2. Phase 2 will be performed under the auspices a future contract or amendment and will seek to cross-validate the initial study findings. Read Less

The goal of this study is to prospectively evaluate the impact of antacid therapy on esophagitis in children with repaired esophageal atresia. Recent clinical guidelines have attempted to define a systematic approach to the management of these patients with regards to minimizing and treating esophagitis (Krishnan et al 2016), however the quality of evidence supporting many of the recommendations are based on expert opinion or on limited, retrospective studies. Risk factors for esophagitis and optimal length of antacid therapy are not well defined. Through this study, we aim to identify risk factors for the presence of esophagitis in patients with repaired esophageal atresia. We hypothesize that antacid therapy improves esophagitis severity in children following esophageal repair. Read Less

This study will evaluate the use of non- TBI (total body irradiation) conditioning for B-ALL patients with low risk of relapse as defined by absence of NGS-MRD (next generation sequencing minimal residual disease) before receiving a hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). Patients diagnosed with B-ALL who are candidates for HCT will be screened by NGS-MRD on a test of bone marrow done before the HCT. Subjects who are pre-HCT NGS-MRD negative will be eligible to receive a non-TBI conditioning regimen as part of the treatment cohort of the study. Subjects who are pre-HCT NGS-MRD positive will be treated as per treating center standard and will be followed in an observational cohort (HCT center standard of care). Read Less

We aim to assess the effect of Ofatumumab on microglial activation using \[F-18\]PBR06 PET in MS patients in relation to changes in serum markers, MRI abnormalities and clinical impairment longitudinally over 9 months. Specific Aims: Specific Aim 1: To determine the effect of Ofatumumab on microglial activation in MS over 9 months. Specific Aim 2: To determine the time course of effect of Ofatumumab on microglial activation and its relationship with peripheral B-cell depletion, serum neurofilament light (sNfL) chain and glial-fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) levels and other serum biomarkers Specific Aim 3: To determine the relationship of PET changes following Ofatumumab initiation with 3T MRI changes and clinical parameters. Read Less

This research will test the hypothesis that immune system disequilibrium / dysfunction explains why preoperative cognitive impairment is a strong predictor of postoperative morbidity in older surgical patients. The investigators propose that cognitive impairment influences surgical morbidity because of underlying immune disequilibrium / dysfunction (risk marker) and that this shapes the immune response to surgery and defines immunological hallmarks of postoperative morbidity (disease marker). The overarching goal of this application therefore is to define and better understand the clinical immunology underlying the relationship between cognition and geriatric surgical morbidity. Read Less

This research study is evaluating a therapy called proton beam radiation therapy (PBRT) as a possible treatment for neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma most commonly occurs in and around the adrenal glands, which are located at the top of the kidneys. However, it can also occur in other areas where groups of nerve cells exist, such as other areas of the abdomen, neck and near the spine. Conventional radiation therapy with photons is used as standard treatment for many patients with neuroblastic tumors. In this research study, the investigators are looking at another type of radiation called proton radiation which is known to spare surrounding tissues and organs from unnecessary radiation. Proton radiation delivers radiation to the area requiring radiation. This may reduce side effects that patients would normally experience with standard radiation therapy or other means of delivering proton radiation therapy. In this research study, the investigators are evaluating the effectiveness of using proton radiation delivered to reduce side effects associated with radiation treatment. The investigators will also be assessing the late side effects experienced by participants in each treatment group. Read Less

This research study is a Phase I clinical trial. Phase I clinical trials test the safety of an investigational intervention. Phase I studies also try to define the appropriate dose of the investigational therapy to use for further studies. "Investigational" means that the intervention is still being studied and that research doctors are trying to find out more about it. Retroperitoneal sarcomas are soft tissue tumors located at the far back of the abdomen. Typically, patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas either have surgery for the removal of their tumors alone, or have their tumors removed, followed by standard radiation therapy, or have pre-operative radiation followed by surgery. When conventional radiation therapy is delivered after surgery, it can damage normal tissue. In this study, you will undergo proton beam radiation therapy or IMRT before undergoing surgery for the removal of your tumor. Proton radiation and IMRT are FDA approved radiation delivery systems. Protons are tiny particles with positive charge that can be controlled to travel a certain distance and stop inside the body. In theory, this allows better control of where the radiation dose is delivered as compared to photons. Since proton radiation is more targeted, it may help to reduce unwanted side effects from radiation. In this study, a standard dose of radiation will be given to the majority of the tumor, while a simultaneously integrated boost of additional radiation will be given to certain areas of the tumor identified as higher risk. This means that a higher radiation dose will be given to the higher risk areas of the tumor. The purpose of this study is to determine the highest dose of radiation therapy with protons or IMRT that can be delivered safely in patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas and the effectiveness of proton beam radiation therapy as an intervention for patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas. Read Less