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Chinese Herbal Acupoint Patches Improved Sleep After Stroke in Small Trials

MHD card with a glowing outline of the sole of a foot wearing a square herbal patch, a dotted amber meridian line, a crescent moon, and scattered dried berries and cinnamon pieces on a warm dark background, illustrating herbal acupoint patches for sleep after stroke.

A 2026 meta-analysis of 7 small Chinese trials found that adding herbal patches on acupuncture points to usual stroke care improved self-rated sleep in 608 stroke survivors with sleep problems.1 The researchers rated that evidence as very low certainty, and safety was barely reported. Research Highlights Better sleep scores: across 6 trials (536 people), Pittsburgh …

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Suspected Narcolepsy Turned Out to Be Epilepsy and Sleep Apnea

MHD card showing a sleeping person lying face-up on a pillow under a crescent moon, with a breathing wave that pauses and then turns into a jagged seizure-like burst, illustrating a case of suspected narcolepsy that turned out to be epilepsy and sleep apnea.

In a 2026 case report from China, a 34-year-old woman with mild intellectual disability was sent for evaluation of possible narcolepsy. Sleep testing and EEG instead showed epilepsy and moderate obstructive sleep apnea.1 Research Highlights Narcolepsy was ruled unlikely: she took 9.3 minutes on average to fall asleep during daytime nap tests, with no early …

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Parcel-Guided rTMS for Treatment-Resistant Depression: 6 of 11 Remitted in Pilot

MHD card showing a dark violet mosaic of irregular brain-atlas parcels, with three highlighted parcels meeting at a glowing crosshair target beneath a figure-eight TMS coil, illustrating parcel-guided rTMS for treatment-resistant depression.

Researchers aimed repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which uses magnetic pulses to stimulate brain cells, at a spot chosen from each person’s own brain scan. In a small Columbia University pilot, 6 of 11 adults with treatment-resistant depression ended with low depression scores that met the trial’s remission threshold.1  Research Highlights Symptoms improved at the …

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Brazilian Eating Disorder Guidelines: CBT First for Bulimia and Binge Eating, Fewer Proven Options for Anorexia

MHD card with an open glowing guideline book on a dark navy background, three colored pathways branching from its spine to three nodes, and stepped translucent evidence tiers at the right edge, illustrating eating disorder treatment guidelines.

New Brazilian Psychiatric Association guidelines put cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) first for bulimia and binge-eating disorder. When medication is needed, they recommend fluoxetine as an add-on for bulimia and lisdexamfetamine as the first-choice drug for binge-eating disorder. For anorexia, no single therapy has proven best, and drugs play only a small supporting role.1 Research Highlights …

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Switching to Aripiprazole Every 2 Months Linked to Better Adherence in Bipolar I Disorder

MHD card with a dark plum background, a 12-month calendar grid where every second month carries a glowing magenta injection marker, and a glowing syringe at right, illustrating aripiprazole injections given every 2 months for bipolar I disorder.

Adults with bipolar I disorder who switched to an aripiprazole injection given every 2 months had more days covered by medication over the next 6 months than in the 6 months before, according to a US insurance-claims study of 1,467 people.1 Hospital stays and medical costs fell too, but the study had no comparison group …

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