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Rutgers receives grant to explore drug overdose trends among youth

With a $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Rutgers researchers will conduct a five-year study exploring trends in drug overdoses in adolescents and young adults.

9 Nov 2026

Occasional male cannabis users experience stronger effects than women

Men who use cannabis occasionally reacted more strongly to smoked cannabis than women with similar use habits, even though the amount of THC in their blood was about the same, according to a new study from UCLA Health.

6 Nov 2026

Delivering integrated HIV and substance use services through mobile units could save lives

Results from a clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in five major United States cities show that delivering integrated HIV and substance use disorder (SUD) services using peer navigation in mobile medical units reduced all-cause deaths by 71% compared to participants who received peer navigation to community-based services alone.

5 Nov 2026

Online reviews reveal troubling side effects of insomnia drug lemborexant

Researchers from Rutgers and other universities analyzed hundreds of online reviews on lemborexant – and learned that about 1 in 4 of the reviewers stopped or planned to stop taking the prescription medication used to treat insomnia.

29 Oct 2026

Mindfulness-based behavioral therapy changes brain responses to reduce opioid cravings

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), a behavioral therapy used alongside medication treatment, may help people with opioid use disorder respond differently to drug-related cues and natural rewards, according to a randomized clinical trial led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

28 Oct 2026

Review highlights essential neurological considerations for gender dysphoria care

Gender dysphoria involves distress caused by a mismatch between a person's gender identity and sex assigned at birth.

28 Oct 2026

Psilocybin reshapes brain connections through distinct cellular pathways

A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, reveals how psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in "magic mushrooms," reshapes neural connections in the brain.

22 Oct 2026

New study explores psychedelic therapy for co-occurring cocaine addiction and depression

A team of UTHealth Houston researchers has been awarded a five-year, $3.4 million grant to study whether psilocybin-assisted therapy is a viable treatment option for individuals with co-occurring cocaine use disorder and major depressive disorder.

22 Oct 2026

Tenant right-to-counsel program may reduce emergency visits among high-risk populations

Residential evictions are associated with adverse health outcomes, particularly among low-income populations.

21 Oct 2026

Study finds both the liver and brain drive distinct symptoms of rare genetic epilepsy

A recent study from Johns Hopkins Medicine reveals that both the liver and brain contribute pathways to differing symptoms of the same rare inherited disorder.

9 Oct 2026

Psilocybin users with depression report higher unmet healthcare needs

In a nationally representative study on psilocybin use and mental health treatment, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that among people with depression, those who use psilocybin pursue mental health care at similar rates to nonusers.

6 Oct 2026

Many youth with opioid use disorder miss out on treatment

One in 100 adolescents and young adults in the United States has an opioid use disorder (OUD) and, with the rise of fentanyl in the drug supply, overdoses in this age group have risen sharply since 2019.

5 Oct 2026

UC San Diego receives funding to establish the Polysubstance Addiction Research Center

Researchers from University of California San Diego have received a $12.6 million award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to establish the Polysubstance Addiction Research Center (PARC), a multidisciplinary center designed to uncover the biological factors that contribute to addiction across multiple substances.

30 Sep 2026

Declining benzodiazepine use reflects more cautious medical prescribing practices

The number of benzodiazepine prescriptions like Xanax and Valium dispensed in the United States decreased over the past 10 years, potentially suggesting that doctors have become more cautious when prescribing these sedatives, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

30 Sep 2026

Veterinary sedative in fentanyl supply spikes severe withdrawal cases

A powerful veterinary sedative, medetomidine, is increasingly infiltrating the street supplies of the already deadly opioid fentanyl, with patients suffering from its withdrawal quadrupling in recent years, according to a new analysis by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

29 Sep 2026

Study finds rising cannabis use disorder among older adults

Cannabis use is becoming increasingly common among older adults in the United States, but less is known about how often cannabis use may become problematic in this population.

28 Sep 2026

Persistent stigma creates barriers to modern HIV prevention methods

For decades, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) has been surrounded by fear, misinformation and stigma.

18 Sep 2026

Psilocybin study explores new treatment for cocaine use disorder

Albert Arias, MD, chief of addiction psychiatry at Carilion Clinic, has received an award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to research how psilocybin, a psychedelic compound being studied for several psychiatric and substance use disorders, can offer a new approach for people with cocaine use disorder.

4 Sep 2026

Social media messages could empower parents to prevent teen vaping

Parents are an important line of defense against teen vaping, yet many lack the knowledge and tools needed to recognize vaping products, understand their risks and prevent their children from using them.

31 Aug 2026

Loneliness can reprogram the brain to increase alcohol use

Loneliness can reprogram the brain in ways that push alcohol consumption, reports a new preclinical study led by Northwestern University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

25 Aug 2026