The
Mallinckrodt MGH General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) is a research center at
Massachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and a biomedical research facility in Boston, Massachusetts....
. It is located in Boston, Massachusetts, with satellites in Cambridge, MA and Charlestown, MA. It is supported by a GCRC grant through the
National Institutes of HealthThe National Institutes of Health is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. It consists of 27 separate institutes and centers which includes the Office...
.
History
The MGH GCRC began as Ward IV in 1925. It was the second clinical research center in the United States. The impetus for its founding came from Joseph Aub, who was supported by James Howard Means and David Linn Edsall, Dean of Medicine at
Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is currently ranked first among American research medical schools by U.S. News and World Report....
. The ward began as just two inpatient beds, accommodating mostly metabolic and endocrine research. Many doctors conducted research on the ward, including endocrinologist
Fuller AlbrightFuller Albright was an American endocrinologist who made numerous contributions to his field, especially to the area of calcium metabolism.-Education and training:...
.
In the 1940s, Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr., head of the
MallinckrodtMallinckrodt Incorporated is a set of pharmaceutical, chemical, imaging, and respiratory equipment suppliers based in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Founded in 1867 when the Mallinckrodt brothers formed G. Mallinckrodt & Company to manufacture pharmaceutical chemicals, Mallinckrodt was purchased by...
Chemical Company and a college friend of Albright's, contributed enough money to fund three additional inpatient beds on the unit. He also started an endowment fund to ensure the continuous operation of Ward IV. As a result of this fund, Ward IV was renovated to put two bed in each of the five inpatient rooms, leading to a total of ten beds. A laboratory, metabolic kitchen, and patient recreation space were also added. In 1949, Ward IV was renamed "Mallinckrodt Ward IV" in honor of Mallinckrodt's contributions.
By the 1950s, Ward IV researchers had made many significant contributions. In 1957, Means published a book detailing the ward's history, entitled "Ward 4".
In 1978, Ward IV became a GCRC supported by the NIH. In the 1980s, the MGH GCRC moved from its previous location on the first floor of the Bulfinch building to its current location on the thirteenth floor of the White building. Facilities include both inpatient and outpatient rooms, expanded space for staff, a core laboratory, a metabolic kitchen, and an outdoor deck for both patients and staff.
The 2000s were a time of great change for the MGH GCRC. The space in the White building was renovated. The MGH GCRC acquired two new satellites, the Clinical Research Center at the
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research...
and the Biomedical Imaging Core at the Charlestown Navy Yard. The MGH GCRC was one of the first GCRCs in the nation to have an imaging facility, and remains one of the only few with this technology. The decade will bring more changes for the MGH GCRC, as the NIH recently announced it will be eliminating the GCRC grant in favor of a Clinical and Translational Science Award, or
CTSACTSA may refer to :*Cathepsin A is an enzyme which is classified both as a cathepsin and a carboxypeptidase.*The Catholic Theological Society of America is a professional association of theologians that was founded in 1946 to promote studies and research in theology within the Catholic tradition....
. The new grant will bring together the GCRCs from MGH,
Brigham and Women's HospitalBrigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Boston, Massachusetts and is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate...
,
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterBoth an international and regional referral center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...
,
Children's Hospital BostonChildren's Hospital Boston is a children's hospital located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston, Massachusetts.Located at 300 Longwood Avenue, Children's is adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical School, and to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute...
, and their respective satellites under the umbrella of
Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is currently ranked first among American research medical schools by U.S. News and World Report....
.
Medical Contributions
In the 1920s, Ward IV's first study was published by Aub and Bauer-- the first ever physiological and therapeutic study of
lead poisoningLead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body...
.
In the 1930s, Albright, called the "father of modern endocrinology", first described and treated
hyperparathyroidismHyperparathyroidism is overactivity of the parathyroid glands resulting in excess production of parathyroid hormone . The parathyroid hormone regulates calcium and phosphate levels and helps to maintain these levels...
.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ward IV was used mostly for metabolic studies of bone and wound healing through the
Office of Scientific Research and DevelopmentThe Office of Scientific Research and Development was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May 1941, and it was created formally by on June 28, 1941...
. Also in the 1940s, Hertz first used radioactive iodine treatment for Graves Disease. This has since become the most common treatment for the disease in the United States.
In the 1950s, Alexander Leaf and Frederic Bartter first described the syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone secretion, or SIADH.
Much research on calcium metabolism was done during the 1960s.
In the 1970s, Edgar Haber first used antibodies to treat
digitalisDigitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and biennials that are commonly called foxgloves. The genus was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, but upon review of phylogenetic research, it has now been placed in the much enlarged family...
toxicity. JT Potts described the physiology and clinical role of
calcitoninCalcitonin is a 32-amino acid linear polypeptide hormone that is producedin humans primarily by the parafollicular cells of the thyroid, and in many other animals in the ultimobranchial body. It acts to reduce blood calcium , opposing the effects of parathyroid hormone . It has been found in fish,...
.
In the 1980s, William Crowley first used GnRH agonist treatment for central
precocious pubertyPrecocious puberty is an unusually early onset of puberty, the process of sexual maturation triggered by the brain or exogenous chemicals, which usually begins in late childhood and results in reproductive maturity and completion of growth...
. This treatment is still the most effective for the disorder. Ann Klibanski and Ridgway studied the
glycoproteinGlycoproteins are proteins that contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to their polypeptide side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known as glycosylation. In proteins that have segments extending...
secretion of pituitary tumors. David Nathan and Blackshear first treated type I and type II
diabetes mellitusDiabetes mellitus —often referred to simply as diabetes—is a condition in which the body either does not produce enough, or does not properly respond to, insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. Insulin enables cells to absorb glucose in order to turn it into energy...
with an implantable
insulin pumpThe insulin pump is a medical device used for the administration of insulin in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, also known as continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion therapy.The device includes:...
.
The 1990s were an explosion of research at the MGH GCRC. In the early 1990s, Mankin used replacement therapy for
Gaucher's DiseaseGaucher's disease is a genetic disease in which a fatty substance accumulates in cells and certain organs.Gaucher's disease is the most common of the lysosomal storage diseases. It is caused by a hereditary deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase . The enzyme acts on a fatty substance...
. Robert Neer began researching
parathyroid hormoneParathyroid hormone , or parathormone, is secreted by the parathyroid glands as a polypeptide containing 84 amino acids. It acts to increase the concentration of calcium in the blood, whereas calcitonin acts to decrease calcium concentration.PTH acts to increase the concentration...
injections as means to prevent osteoperosis after
menopauseMenopause is the time in a woman’s life when menstruation ends. It is part of a biological process that begins, for most women, in their mid-fifties. During this time, the ovaries gradually produce lower levels of natural sex hormones—estrogen and progesterone...
. In the late 1990s, Hans Breiter used fMRI technology to show how specific areas of the human brain react to
cocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant...
and cocaine cravings. Klibanski used rhIGF-1 to treat bone loss among people with
anorexia nervosaAnorexia nervosa is a psychiatric illness that describes an eating disorder characterized by extremely low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight...
and other eating disorders. Janet Hall and William Crowley used pulsatile GnRH to induce
ovulationOvulation is the process in the females menstrual cycle by which a mature ovarian follicle ruptures and discharges an ovum that participates in reproduction...
in women with idiopathic hypogonadotropism.
There have been several notable discoveries since the year 2000. Matthew Smith discovered an alternative way of blocking hormone activity in
prostate cancerProstate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes. Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, problems...
patients, with fewer side effects and improved bone density. Stephen Grinspoon treated
HIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid,...
lipodystrophyLipodystrophy is a medical condition characterized by abnormal or degenerative conditions of the body's adipose tissue. A more specific term, lipoatrophy is used when describing the loss of fat from one area .- Types :Lipodystrophy may be divided into the following...
and associated
metabolic syndromeMetabolic syndrome is a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It affects one in five people, and prevalence increases with age...
with insulin-sensitizing agents. Enrico Cagliero and David Nathan used
islet cell transplantationIslet transplantation is the transplantation of isolated islets from a donor pancreas and into another person. It is an experimental treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. Once transplanted, the islets begin to produce insulin, actively regulating the level of glucose in the blood.Islets are...
in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus who were already receiving a kidney transplant.