MentalHealthDaily

Parkinson’s Diabetes Oxidative Stress: 8-OHdG Rose, F2-Isoprostanes Did Not

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for Parkinson's disease, diabetes, oxidative stress, 8-OHdG, and F2-isoprostanes.

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 …

Cholinergic Modulators Improved Schizophrenia Negative Symptoms

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for cholinergic modulators in schizophrenia.

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 …

tDCS Plus Cognitive Training Improved Cognition Short-Term by SMD 0.36

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for tDCS plus cognitive training in cognitive impairment.

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 …

CBT-I Outperformed Added Sleep Medication in 15 RCTs

by GLOOM

Stylized illustration of a CBT-I therapy session and a pill bottle with arrows indicating combined treatment, representing the AASM systematic review on whether to combine cognitive behavioral therapy and sleep medication.

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 …

52 Chronic Pain Studies Link Cortisol, Heart Rate, HRV

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for stress physiology and pain sensitivity in chronic primary pain.

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: …

Perinatal Depression in Ethiopia: 22.49% Pooled Umbrella Prevalence

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for perinatal depression prevalence in Ethiopia.

An Ethiopian umbrella review estimated perinatal depressive symptoms at 22.49% across 8 systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Antenatal and postnatal rates were similar, so the burden spans the whole perinatal window rather than clustering only after delivery.1 Research Highlights Overall pooled prevalence was 22.49%: Necho et al. combined 8 Ethiopian systematic reviews and meta-analyses covering 28 …

Complex PTSD Therapy Helped Affect Regulation Most

by GLOOM

A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials found no broad superiority for phase-based complex PTSD care across most outcomes. Affect dysregulation was the clearest exception, improving more when treatment was phase-based, multi-phase, and exposure-containing. Research Highlights Most therapy formats helped: across waitlist and treatment-as-usual comparisons, psychological interventions reduced PTSD symptoms (k = 9; …