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SSRI Pharmacogenomic Testing: CYP2D6, CYP2C19, Remission

MHD featured image for SSRI Pharmacogenomic Testing: CYP2D6, CYP2C19, Remission.

A 2026 methylome-wide association study by Shen et al. found 48 CpG methylation sites tied to the quadratic CYP2C19 metabolizer-status term in 18,396 Generation Scotland participants, with 19 sites showing non-linear patterns and targeted replication in 1,238 older adults.1 That supports CYP2C19 as real biology beneath SSRI pharmacogenomics, but it does not prove universal antidepressant …

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Subcallosal Cingulate DBS for Treatment-Resistant Depression

MHD featured image for Subcallosal Cingulate DBS for Treatment-Resistant Depression.

A 2026 systematic review of subcallosal cingulate (SCC) functional connectivity found 28 qualifying resting-state fMRI studies in depression: 21 rTMS/iTBS studies, 4 ECT studies, 3 focused-ultrasound studies, and 0 DBS or tDCS studies.1 That number is the useful correction: SCC DBS may still be biologically plausible, but the current fMRI connectivity literature mostly explains noninvasive …

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Alpha-Synuclein SAA Predicts Parkinson’s Levodopa Response Durability

Photoreal illustration of CSF biomarker testing alongside dopaminergic neuron pathways, representing PD biomarker stratification.

A 2026 PPMI analysis found that Parkinson’s patients with positive CSF α-synuclein seed amplification assay results kept gaining levodopa benefit over follow-up, while SAA-negative patients showed faster ON-medication motor progression than SAA-positive patients: 0.87 vs. 3.47 MDS-UPDRS Part III points/year in 183 matched SAA-positive and 40 SAA-negative patients.1 Research Highlights ON-state progression split sharply: SAA-positive …

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Leaded Gasoline and ALS: Australia’s MND Surge Tracks Lead

Photoreal illustration linking historical leaded-petrol exposure with motor neurone disease, with imagery of a vintage gas pump and motor neuron motifs.

A 2026 Australian ecological model found that 20-year-lagged cumulative population blood-lead burden was nonlinearly tied to motor neuron disease mortality (lead spline p = 0.00024), while national insecticide use did not independently explain the curve after adjustment (p = 0.39).1 That is a real lead signal, but it is still population-level evidence, not proof that …

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Alzheimer’s RVI-AD MRI Score Predicted Dementia Conversion With 0.70 AUC

A 2026 Molecular Psychiatry study found that RVI-AD, a structural-MRI score measuring how closely a person’s brain anatomy matches an Alzheimer’s disease pattern, predicted mild-cognitive-impairment conversion to dementia most strongly over the next 3 years: OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.81-2.57, p < 2e-16, AUC 0.70.1 Research Highlights Short-term conversion signal: in 965 ADNI participants with …

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