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 …
A 2026 meta-analysis of 8 controlled trials found that AVATAR therapy reduced auditory verbal hallucination severity after treatment, Hedges’ g = −0.40, 95% CI −0.54 to −0.25, across 978 participants.1 The signal is real, but the strongest reading is short-term symptom calibration rather than a finished replacement for standard psychosis care. Research Highlights Voice severity …
A 2026 meta-analysis of 54 human studies found that 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine rose in Parkinson’s disease, while F2-isoprostanes did not show a statistically confirmed Parkinson’s signal; type 2 diabetes showed much larger peripheral oxidative-stress elevations than Parkinson’s disease for both biomarkers. Research Highlights Parkinson’s DNA-oxidation signal was moderate: Msigwa et al. pooled 5 Parkinson’s disease studies with …
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 medRxiv meta-analysis of 27 trials found that transcranial direct current stimulation added to cognitive training improved global cognition immediately after treatment by SMD 0.36 compared with cognitive training alone.1 The signal was small, short-term, and rated very low certainty, so it is not evidence that tDCS is a durable cognitive-rehabilitation shortcut. Research Highlights …
Patients with chronic insomnia frequently end up on both a sleep medication and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), and a 2026 AASM meta-analysis of 15 RCTs from Buysse et al. found a clear asymmetry: adding CBT-I to medication helps, while adding medication to CBT-I adds little and may even worsen daytime depression scores.1 Research …
A 2026 review of 52 studies found that chronic primary pain is linked to several physiological stress markers, especially cortisol, heart rate, heart-rate recovery, and mean arterial pressure. The pattern is real enough to study, but not clean enough to use as a simple biomarker panel for pain severity.1 Research Highlights 52 studies were reviewed: …