A 2026 real-world study involving 1,174 children with epilepsy proposed a levetiracetam therapeutic drug monitoring range of 2.82-24.37 mcg/mL, much lower than commonly cited adult-style ranges, but the same data also warned against treating a drug level as a stand-alone seizure-control predictor. Research Highlights Lower pediatric range: Sun et al. proposed an observational levetiracetam range …
A 2026 AB10015 post-hoc preprint reported 42.3% 5-year survival from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis symptom onset among patients originally assigned to masitinib 4.5 mg/kg/day with riluzole. The number is large for ALS, but the long-term comparison is historical and modeled rather than randomized placebo follow-up.1 Research Highlights 42.3% reached 5 years from onset: Ludolph et al. …
A 210-person randomized assessor-blinded trial found that adding weekly Hegu-point catgut embedding to gabapentin improved 4-week postherpetic-neuralgia response from 80.00% to 92.38%; compared with gabapentin alone, the add-on arm also ended with lower sleep-problem scores and fewer adverse events.[1] This 2026 trial supports an add-on signal that still needs sham-controlled confirmation because follow-up lasted only …
A 2026 Medicare target-trial emulation found continued levetiracetam after acute ischemic stroke was associated with 53 vs. 62 deaths per 1,000 over 90 days, a risk difference of −9 deaths per 1,000 favoring continuation. Research Highlights Survival signal: continued levetiracetam after an initial month of post-stroke use was linked to 53 deaths per 1,000 vs. …
A 2026 mixed-methods study of 32 chronic non-cancer pain patients found the strongest satisfaction signal when prescribed cannabis-based medicines affected stress, sleep, coping, anxiety, appetite, and daily function — not pain intensity alone.1 Research Highlights 32 patients were interviewed: Pombeiro Stein et al. studied adults from a German pain clinic who had used physician-prescribed cannabis-based …
A 2026 prospective German aneurysm cohort found risky alcohol use in 4.6% of 954 intracranial aneurysm patients, and that exposure carried 2.00x higher adjusted odds of aneurysm rupture plus 3.26x higher adjusted odds of clinically severe aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Research Highlights Risky alcohol was the main signal: drinking above the study threshold was independently associated …
Semaglutide is not close to being an approved cocaine-use-disorder medication, but a 2026 rat study gives the idea a more demanding preclinical test than ordinary self-administration experiments. After 5 days of treatment, rats shifted away from cocaine choice without losing total operant responding, which separates the result from a broad appetite-suppression artifact. Research Highlights Semaglutide …