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ALS Entropy Analysis Finds 5-Month Signal Hidden by ALSFRS Scores

MHD featured image for ALS trial endpoints, Shannon entropy, and ALSFRS domain trajectories.

A 2026 PRO-ACT analysis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) trial data found a signal that ordinary ALSFRS total-score slopes cannot even express: Shannon entropy trajectories diverged between pooled active and placebo arms, including a 5-month delay in peak Fine Motor distributional spread for active-arm patients.1 Research Highlights Entropy found an endpoint-level signal: Rodriguez analyzed 7,512 …

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Fibromyalgia Costs in Saudi Arabia: $2,560 Annual Direct Medical Cost

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A 2026 Saudi tertiary-hospital study estimated that adults treated for fibromyalgia — chronic widespread pain with fatigue, sleep disruption, cognitive symptoms, and overlapping mood or medical problems — generated SAR 9,601.2 (USD 2,560.3) in annual direct medical costs per patient, with specialist visits and diagnostic procedures accounting for 96.3% of recorded spending.1 Research Highlights Annual …

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PHQ-15 and SSD-12 1-Week Versions Support Clinical Symptom Tracking

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A 2026 psychometric study of 354 Swedish participants found that 1-week versions of the PHQ-15 and SSD-12 mostly preserved internal consistency and construct validity, but reliability was acceptable mainly in clinical participants or when researchers averaged 2 timepoints. Research Highlights Clinical tracking looked more defensible than healthy screening: Hybelius et al. studied 194 people with …

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Teen Substance-Use Prediction in ABCD: Stable Signals, Small Effects

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A 2026 ABCD Study preprint involving 11,868 youth found stable time-ordered predictors of teen substance-use initiation, but the adjusted effects were small: most estimates ranged from −0.01 to 0.02 initiation-probability points per 1-SD predictor increase. Research Highlights Large ABCD panel: Wei et al. analyzed 11,868 youth with repeated observations and interval-level initiation outcomes for alcohol, …

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Alcohol Use Disclosure in Tanzania: 10.6% Told Providers

A 2026 cross-sectional study in Moshi, Tanzania found that only 26 of 246 injury patients who drank alcohol, or 10.6%, had ever told a healthcare provider about their alcohol use.1 The calibration result was contrary to the prediction: measured alcohol stigma did not track disclosure, while alcohol-related consequences did. Research Highlights Disclosure was rare: among …

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Caffeine Intake and Sleep Quality: 428 Working Adults, Source by Source

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A 2026 cross-sectional study involving 428 employed adults found that poor sleepers reported a median 292.8 mg/day of caffeine, compared with 176.1 mg/day among good sleepers, and total caffeine intake still predicted higher Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores after adjustment (β = 0.147, p = 0.003). The source breakdown is the useful part: black coffee, …

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Digital Mental Health Visualizations: 6 Tools for Anxiety, Depression

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A 2026 participatory-design and case-study paper turned smartphone mental-health data into 6 clinician-facing visualizations for an 8-week anxiety/depression digital clinic, using feedback from 15 clinicians and 3 clinical supervisors. The useful claim is workflow-level: charts made passive sensing and symptom ratings discussable inside care, but the paper did not test whether the visualizations improved clinical …

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