A 2026 double-blind randomized controlled trial by Kappes et al. in Psychopharmacology found something the smart-drug users likely wouldn’t have predicted: a single 30 mg dose of methylphenidate reduced dishonest misreporting on a die-rolling task from ~22% of trials in the placebo arm to ~6% (in the methylphenidate arm).1 Atomoxetine, a noradrenergic comparator, had no …
Most antidepressant pharmacovigilance data come from high-income countries, leaving prescribing patterns and adverse-effect profiles in low- and middle-income countries underdocumented. A 2026 cross-sectional study by Riaz and colleagues describes antidepressant use in Pakistan, with patient-reported adverse effects mapped against prescription patterns.1 Research Highlights Antidepressant use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has grown substantially but …
Until recently, Alzheimer’s pathology could only be confirmed in living patients via PET imaging or lumbar puncture. Plasma p-tau217 changed that calculus — but how to interpret a positive result depends substantially on APOE genotype.1 Research Highlights Plasma p-tau217 is a blood biomarker that rises years before Alzheimer’s symptoms. The 2024 Alzheimer’s Association revised criteria …
First-generation antipsychotic (FGA) shortages are not just pharmacy annoyances; they force medication changes in people who may have taken years to stabilize on a tolerable regimen. Research Highlights 95,968 patients: Tabah 2026 used Komodo claims data to study people with psychotic-spectrum diagnoses taking shortage-affected first-generation antipsychotics. Switching was not evenly distributed: molindone reached 100% switching, …
Iceland is a registry-rich country with a small enough population that genuinely nationwide health data is feasible — not the survey-based approximations that anchor most psychiatric epidemiology elsewhere. A 2026 PLOS One study used the Iceland Screens, Treats, or Prevents Multiple Myeloma (iStopMM) cohort — 80,759 adults aged 40+, representing 54% of all eligible Icelanders …
Patients with schizophrenia have substantially elevated dementia risk compared to the general population — roughly 2-3 times the age-adjusted rate — but the specific drivers within the schizophrenia population have been less well characterized. A 2026 case-control study by Ho et al. used population-based data to identify which factors specifically elevate dementia risk among schizophrenia …
Clozapine is the only medication with proven efficacy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, yet most eligible patients wait years before starting it. A 2026 paper by Perfalk and colleagues trains a machine-learning model on routine electronic health record data to flag candidates earlier.1 Research Highlights Clozapine is the only evidence-based treatment for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), but the …