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UCL study urges clinician vigilance when prescribing gabapentinoids for pain

People who take gabapentinoids, a medication prescribed increasingly frequently worldwide, particularly for chronic pain, face a much greater risk of drug poisoning if they are also taking another medication, finds a new study by University College London (UCL) researchers.

17 Apr 2026

US Medicaid data finds buprenorphine safe for long-term child development

Children born to mothers who used buprenorphine for opioid addiction during pregnancy do not have a greater risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD and autism, compared with children whose mothers took methadone, finds a large US study published by The BMJ today.

17 Apr 2026

Researchers use light-activated drugs to map the brain's internal painkillers

Placebo effects, in which patients experience relief without therapeutic treatment, increasingly have been considered as potentially powerful clinical treatments for ailments such as depression and pain. Yet the neurological mechanisms underlying such processes are not fully understood. Now, a multi-institutional team led by the University of California San Diego's Matthew Banghart, an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences, has pinpointed the brain circuitry responsible for placebo pain relief.

17 Apr 2026

Academic stress weakens mental resilience and triggers a reliance on gaming

China's highly competitive education system is known for its strict evaluation, rigorous intensity, and academic pressure. A recent study has highlighted the growing problem of this academic pressure leading to burnout amongst Chinese adolescents, which is pushing them towards online gaming.

17 Apr 2026

Researchers prove magnetic seizures are comparable to ECT in clinical response

A landmark international clinical trial led by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, has found that magnetic seizure therapy (MST) is as effective as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-the current gold-standard treatment for severe, treatment-resistant depression-with significantly fewer cognitive side effects. The study is the first large-scale, randomized clinical trial to directly compare MST with ECT, marking an important step toward a new treatment option for patients.

16 Apr 2026

Study warns of rising teen dependency on AI companions

It's estimated that more than half of all of U.S. teens are regularly using companion chatbots powered by large language models and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

13 Apr 2026

Targeting super-enhancer mechanisms offers new strategies for cancer therapy

Super-enhancers (SEs) are large clusters of transcriptional regulatory elements that drive oncogene expression, maintain malignancy, and create "transcriptional addiction" in cancer.

13 Apr 2026

Environmental enrichment found to weaken stress-triggered fentanyl relapse

Combating the opioid crisis relies on identifying new prevention strategies for problematic fentanyl use. In a collaboration between Washington State University and Washington University in St. Louis, researchers led by Jose Moron tested whether enriching a rat's environment can reduce fentanyl use and relapse.

13 Apr 2026

People with chronic pain are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes

New research from the University of Kansas shows people who experience chronic pain tend to consume cigarettes and e-cigarettes at higher rates than others.

13 Apr 2026

Brain pathways combine memory and reward to guide behavior

New research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) reveals how two different parts of the brain's memory center team up in a key reward region to help mice-and likely humans-combine memories of places and contexts with the drive to pursue rewards.

10 Apr 2026

Swapping passive screen time with mental activity may cut dementia risk

Research shows that mentally active sedentary behavior can reduce dementia risk, emphasizing the importance of daily cognitive engagement for brain health.

9 Apr 2026

AI models may amplify bias in psychiatric aggression predictions

A first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found that artificial intelligence (AI) models used to predict aggressive incidents in acute psychiatric care can reinforce and amplify existing social and structural inequities by overestimating the likelihood of aggression among already marginalized groups.

7 Apr 2026

What happens in the brain on psychedelics? Scientists identify a common circuit pattern

Researchers combined 11 international resting-state fMRI datasets to map how psychedelic drugs reshape brain connectivity across cortical and subcortical circuits. The mega-analysis found a shared signature of stronger coupling between transmodal association networks and unimodal or sensorimotor systems, alongside selective and variable reductions in within-network connectivity.

7 Apr 2026

Smoking shrinks key brain regions while cannabis shows weaker effects

The study highlights brain changes from tobacco use and calls for more research on cannabis, as its effects on brain structure remain inadequately understood.

7 Apr 2026

Expanded Medicaid improved access to buprenorphine for opioid use disorder

Medicaid insurance expansions between 2017 and 2023 sharply increased access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder in a period when fatal overdoses continued to climb, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

6 Apr 2026

Organ-on-chip model advances study of sexually transmitted infections

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) not only impact an individual's health but also result in multibillion-dollar economic losses worldwide.

3 Apr 2026

Semaglutide for weight loss was linked to a sharp drop in alcohol use in this case report

A 2026 case report describes a 34-year-old man with obesity and alcohol use disorder whose semaglutide treatment for weight loss was associated with a marked drop in drinking over 10 months, with his AUDIT score falling from 27 to 7 and alcohol use dropping from about 15 drinks per week to half a beer per month. The authors frame this as a promising but preliminary finding that adds to growing evidence on GLP-1 drugs and alcohol use, while also stressing that this was a single case and that better AUD screening in family medicine remains important.

2 Apr 2026

Many US jails lack nearby access to opioid treatment programs, study shows

A new study led by researchers at Brown University School of Public Health found that more than half of U.S. jails are located at least a 30-minute drive from the nearest opioid treatment program - a distance that may make it harder for incarcerated people to receive methadone, a key medication for opioid addiction.

2 Apr 2026

New brain circuit discovery offers hope for chronic pain treatment

A new map of a brain circuit specific to chronic pain suggests a promising route to treatment for the roughly 60 million Americans living with persistent pain, according to a study published in Nature.

1 Apr 2026

Highly potent opioid shows potential as therapy for pain and opioid use disorder

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a novel, highly potent opioid that shows potential as a therapy for both pain and opioid use disorder.

1 Apr 2026