A 2026 meta-analysis of 4 randomized trials found that GLP-1 receptor agonists reduced obstructive sleep apnea severity by 13.89 apnea-hypopnea events per hour compared with placebo, alongside 12.46 kg more weight loss than placebo.1 The effect looks clinically meaningful for obesity-linked sleep apnea, but high heterogeneity means the result should not be flattened into “GLP-1 …
Cocaine relapse circuitry looks different when alcohol is part of the history. In a rat model, inhibiting prelimbic cortex neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens core blocked cue-triggered cocaine seeking after cocaine alone, but failed after sequential cocaine-alcohol polysubstance use.1 Research Highlights PL-NAc inhibition split by drug history: in a 4-group DREADD experiment, inhibiting the …
A 2026 preprint following 964 adults who used a Chicago mobile medical unit for opioid use disorder care found 5 follow-up patterns over 12 months: 56% made 1 visit, while the remaining patients showed slow decline, fast decline, infrequent use, or continued use.1 Research Highlights The cohort was large for mobile OUD care: 3,528 OUD-related …
A 30-trial meta-analysis found that cholinergic modulators improved schizophrenia negative symptoms, SMD −0.42, while the overall total PANSS/BPRS effect was not statistically significant.1 The clearest signal came from muscarinic agonists, which makes acetylcholine biology promising but not uniformly positive across every cholinergic drug class. Research Highlights Negative symptoms improved: Cholinergic modulators reduced PANSS-N/SANS negative symptom …
A 2026 cross-sectional schizophrenia study found no meaningful association between antipsychotic dose and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) performance in young, clinically stable outpatients. Cognitive scores related more strongly to symptom burden, illness duration, education, and age at diagnosis than to daily or 1-year cumulative antipsychotic exposure.1 Research Highlights Daily dose was not linked to MoCA: …
A 2026 national survey of Dutch emergency physicians found wide variation in first-line medication choices for extreme agitation: without intravenous access, 34.7% preferred midazolam, 23.1% preferred droperidol, 14.3% preferred droperidol plus midazolam, and 10.4% preferred esketamine.1 The result is a practice map, not an outcome trial, but it shows how emergency clinicians are balancing rapid …
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and opioid-withdrawal restlessness both produce night-worsening urges to move. A 2026 npj Parkinson’s Disease mouse study tied that overlap to hypersensitive striatal D1-mu-opioid receptor signaling in basal-ganglia motor circuits.1 Research Highlights 2 clinically similar states converged: restless legs syndrome and opioid-withdrawal restlessness both point toward a striatal D1-mu-opioid circuit that regulates …