TL;DR: A 2026 randomized trial in Journal of Medical Internet Research tested the web-based Health Check-Up for Expectant Moms program in 176 pregnant women at risk for substance use or sexually transmitted infection risk, but reductions in alcohol, cannabis, and condomless sex did not differ clearly from an attention-matched control condition. Key Findings 176 pregnant …
TL;DR: A 2026 qualitative study in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment found that syringe service programs helped people receive buprenorphine quickly, but participants said precipitated withdrawal and limited at-home initiation guidance made treatment harder to start and continue. Key Findings 12 exit interviews: Researchers interviewed people after a randomized trial of buprenorphine …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Translational Psychiatry combined positron emission tomography (PET) and functional MRI (fMRI) in alcohol use disorder and linked cerebellar hypermetabolism to disrupted fronto-cerebellar connectivity and poorer inhibition performance. Key Findings AUD-control sample: Researchers compared 27 people with severe alcohol use disorder (AUD) and 25 healthy controls. Multimodal imaging used: The study …
TL;DR: A 2026 observational study in International Journal of Legal Medicine found that cocaine dominated analytically confirmed recreational drug toxicity cases in one Bologna emergency department, while ketamine was common and all new-psychoactive-substance-positive patients had psychomotor agitation. Key Findings 110 ED patients: The observational study enrolled 110 patients with suspected acute recreational drug toxicity between …
TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Bipolar Disorders found that poor medication adherence in bipolar disorder was linked to substance use, psychotic features, lower insight, poorer functioning, and several markers of more severe illness, but most evidence was graded low or very low quality. Key Findings 19 studies included: Researchers pooled observational studies …
TL;DR: A 2026 secondary analysis in Addiction found that adults switched to very-low-nicotine cigarettes often used alternative nicotine products and maintained much higher nicotine intake than cigarette-only users. Key Findings 438 smokers: The parent randomized clinical trial enrolled adults who smoked 5 to 40 cigarettes per day. 0.4 mg/g cigarettes: The very-low-nicotine-content group received Spectrum …
TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that one session of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) reduced cigarette craving in adults with tobacco use disorder, and the people who responded had heavier baseline smoking, craving, and withdrawal. Key Findings DLPFC craving test: The randomized crossover study included 60 adults …
TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Molecular Psychiatry found that CB-1 receptor blockade and cannabidiol reduced alcohol intake in animal models, but human alcohol-use-disorder evidence remained inconsistent and too thin to support a treatment claim. Key Findings 63 studies reviewed: Researchers synthesized 44 preclinical studies and 19 clinical or human experimental studies of …
TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Pain Medicine found that Medicaid enrollment and preoperative benzodiazepine use had the largest pooled associations with new persistent opioid use after surgery among opioid-naive US adults. Key Findings 27 cohort studies: The review included US adult surgical studies that separated opioid-naive patients from those using opioids before …
TL;DR: A 2026 secondary analysis in Drug and Alcohol Dependence found 4 cannabis craving trajectories during treatment, with the high-craving group showing more positive urine cannabinoid tests and higher baseline anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive cannabis-use symptoms. Key Findings Trial reanalysis: Researchers reanalyzed a 12-week multisite cannabis use disorder trial of 302 adults assigned to N-acetylcysteine …
