TL;DR: A 2026 study in Scientific Reports identified a novel OPHN1 K306N variant in a boy with cyclic strabismus, linking a 24-hour eye-alignment rhythm to altered phosphoinositide binding without the intellectual disability usually associated with OPHN1 syndrome. Key Findings 8-year-old patient: A Japanese boy had cyclic esotropia, with left eye crossing in the morning and …
TL;DR: A 2026 pilot randomized trial in Psychological Services found that a 9-session social-function group for older veterans with PTSD was feasible and acceptable, with stronger relationship gains than a support group in romantic and family functioning. Key Findings 36 randomized veterans: Participants were assigned to ESVP or a support-group comparison condition. 34 started treatment: …
TL;DR: A 2026 review in Journal of Neuroinflammation argues that nociceptor neurons, the sensory fibers best known for pain signaling, can tune antiviral immunity in opposite directions depending on virus, tissue, and infection stage. Key Findings Four viral settings: The review synthesizes sensory-neuron findings across herpes simplex virus (HSV), influenza A virus (IAV), lymphocytic choriomeningitis …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Acta Neuropathologica found that rare NF2-mutant meningiomas can transform into aggressive sarcoma-like tumors while keeping clonal ancestry but losing normal meningioma molecular identity. Key Findings 9 matched tumor pairs: Researchers analyzed nine matched meningioma-sarcoma pairs with histology, immunohistochemistry, DNA methylation, sequencing, copy-number profiling, and proteomics. Shared NF2 ancestry: Sarcomatous recurrences …
TL;DR: A 2026 review in International Journal of Molecular Medicine summarized how tanshinone IIA, a compound from Salvia miltiorrhiza, may protect cardiovascular and cerebrovascular tissue through anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and nanodelivery-linked mechanisms. Key Findings Four mechanism families: The review grouped tanshinone IIA activity around inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis/fibrosis, and pathway regulation. Three named pathways: TLR4/NF-kB, …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Molecular Psychiatry found that radiofrequency capsulotomy and inferior thalamic peduncle deep brain stimulation were associated with the largest symptom improvements among surgical strategies for refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder. Key Findings 75 studies: The network meta-analysis included 75 studies, 1,259 patients, and 20 surgical strategies for refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder. Y-BOCS was primary: …
TL;DR: A 2026 secondary analysis in PLOS One found that low-intensity focused ultrasound and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) had similar short-term post-stroke motor endpoint scores, while change-from-baseline Fugl-Meyer gains were larger with focused ultrasound. Key Findings 50-person comparison: The analysis compared 25 subacute stroke patients assigned to LIFU with 25 assigned to rTMS. 10 …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Nature Metabolism identified brain hyperglycosylation as a metabolic driver of Alzheimer disease in human tissue and mouse models, while glucosamine exposure was linked to worse outcomes in Alzheimer-related dementia records. Key Findings Human AD brains showed excess glycans: Spatial glycomics found elevated N-glycan abundance in Alzheimer frontal cortex samples compared …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Implementation Science Communications found that high-performing HEALing Communities Study coalitions used representative membership, shared goals, data support, and communications campaigns to strengthen opioid-use-disorder service implementation. Key Findings 8 communities studied: Researchers selected the top-performing urban and rural waitlist-control communities from each of four HEALing Communities Study sites. 41 interviews analyzed: …
TL;DR: A 2026 Journal of Global Health analysis of Global Burden of Disease 2021 data estimated that 162.86 million people had substance use disorders in 2021, with age-standardized rates down since 1990 but major inequality across sex, age, region, and development level. Key Findings 162.86 million cases: Global Burden of Disease 2021 estimates put worldwide …
