Drugs & Medications

fMRI Noise Signal Tracked Nicotine Craving and Stimulant Effects

by
fMRI Noise Signal Tracked Nicotine Craving and Stimulant Effects

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science found that systemic low-frequency oscillation (sLFO), a slow whole-body physiology readout usually treated as functional MRI noise, tracked nicotine dependence, cue-induced craving, abstinence, and stimulant-related task performance across four fMRI cohorts. Key Findings The study analyzed four fMRI cohorts: Researchers examined a 64-person cigarette cue-reactivity …

Read more

Opioid Use Disorder Drove 30-Year Rise in US Substance Use Burden

by
Opioid Use Disorder Drove 30-Year Rise in US Substance Use Burden

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Population Health Metrics used Global Burden of Disease 2019 estimates and found that U.S. substance-use-disorder health loss rose sharply from 1990 to 2019, with opioid use disorders driving the largest increase. Key Findings 19.5 million cases: Estimated U.S. substance use disorder prevalence increased from 12.6 million in 1990 to 19.5 …

Read more

UK Perinatal Lithium Prescribing Was Rare and Often Interrupted

by
UK Perinatal Lithium Prescribing Was Rare and Often Interrupted

TL;DR: A 2026 cohort study in The British Journal of Psychiatry found that lithium prescribing around pregnancy was rare in UK primary care records, and most pre-pregnancy lithium users did not stay on treatment through all three trimesters. Key Findings 752,112 pregnancies analyzed: Researchers used UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD records from 1995 to …

Read more

Lithium Followed Valproate Adverse Events in Schizophrenia Agitation Case

by
Lithium Followed Valproate Adverse Events in Schizophrenia Agitation Case

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports described a treatment-resistant residual-phase schizophrenia case in which valproate helped agitation but caused hypoglycemia and pancytopenia, while lithium augmentation was followed by lower hostility and excitement scores. Key Findings 49-year-old patient: The case involved a Japanese woman with chronic treatment-resistant schizophrenia and persistent agitation, aggression, …

Read more

First-Generation Antipsychotic Shortages Were Followed by Medication Switching

by
First-Generation Antipsychotic Shortages Were Followed by Medication Switching

TL;DR: A 2026 claims analysis in Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy found that FDA-declared first-generation antipsychotic shortages were followed by medication switching in 9.13% of included patients with psychotic spectrum disorders, with especially high switching after thiothixene, trifluoperazine, and molindone shortages. Key Findings The claims cohort was large: 95,968 patients had a psychotic …

Read more

Semaglutide Reduced Heavy Alcohol Drinking by 13.7 Percentage Points vs Placebo in 26-Week Trial of Adults With AUD and Obesity

by
Semaglutide Reduced Heavy Alcohol Drinking by 13.7 Percentage Points vs Placebo in 26-Week Trial of Adults With AUD and Obesity

TL;DR: A 2026 randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial in The Lancet (N=108 adults with both moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder and obesity) found that 26 weeks of once-weekly 2.4 mg semaglutide reduced heavy drinking days by 41.1 percentage points compared with a 26.4-point reduction on placebo — a 13.7-point treatment difference, with parallel drops in alcohol craving, …

Read more

Repeated Psilocybin Doses Reduced OCD Severity

by
Repeated Psilocybin Doses Reduced OCD Severity

TL;DR: A 2026 trial in Journal of Psychopharmacology found that repeated supervised psilocybin sessions reduced Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) scores, a standard measure of obsession and compulsion severity, in 15 adults with OCD. Key Findings 73.3% met responder criteria: At the end of the 8-week treatment, 11 of 15 participants had at least a …

Read more

Masitinib ALS Follow-Up Reported Higher 5-Year Survival

by
Masitinib ALS Follow-Up Reported Higher 5-Year Survival

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint reanalyzed long-term survivors from the AB10015 ALS trial and reported that masitinib-treated patients had higher 5-year survival than historical benchmarks, but the analysis was post hoc, sponsor-supported, and lacked long-term placebo follow-up. Key Findings Five-year survival was 42.3%: 55 of 130 patients assigned to masitinib 4.5 mg/kg/day were alive at …

Read more

Lurasidone and Xanomeline Improved Cognitive Scores in Schizophrenia Meta-Analysis

by
Lurasidone and Xanomeline Improved Cognitive Scores in Schizophrenia Meta-Analysis

TL;DR: A 2026 network meta-analysis in International Clinical Psychopharmacology found that lurasidone and xanomeline-trospium improved global cognitive scores in schizophrenia-spectrum randomized trials, while quetiapine and cariprazine ranked best for attention. Key Findings 14 randomized trials: Researchers analyzed 2,464 participants across trials of selected second- and third-generation antipsychotics plus xanomeline-trospium. Lurasidone improved global cognition: Lurasidone outperformed …

Read more

Carbamazepine-Venlafaxine ER Overdose Caused Drug-Level Rebound and Bowel Ischemia

by
Carbamazepine-Venlafaxine ER Overdose Caused Drug-Level Rebound and Bowel Ischemia

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Critical Care Explorations described a 45-year-old woman whose extended-release carbamazepine and venlafaxine overdose led to cardiac arrest, delayed serotonin syndrome, rebounding carbamazepine levels, bowel ischemia, and right hemicolectomy after retained gastrointestinal drug material kept releasing medication. Key Findings Extended-release overdose: The patient had altered mental status after a carbamazepine-venlafaxine ER …

Read more

+ Load more