Psychiatric News (4/7) reports a study found that “treatment with benzodiazepines during an episode of catatonia may cut the risk of future catatonia in half.” Investigators examined “the medical records of 205 adults who were hospitalized with catatonia between 2001 and 2021. Overall, 31% of patients experienced recurrence, with a median time to recurrence of 6.4 years.” They found that “benzodiazepines were associated with a 50% decreased risk of future catatonic episodes over the follow-up period. Antipsychotics were associated with a 64% lower risk of recurrence within 60 days of the index episode but more than double the risk of recurrence in the long run.” Overall, the “findings support the use of benzodiazepines as a first-line treatment option, the researchers said, adding that 88% of patients in this analysis received benzodiazepines either alone or in combination with another treatment.” The study was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

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— “Benzodiazepines May Cut Risk of Recurrent Catatonia in Half, Psychiatric News , April 7, 2026

The New York Times (4/7, Barry) reports that Idaho lawmakers last week “took the unusual step of voting to restore funding” for the assertive community treatment, which was cut in December as a cost-saving measure. The reversal comes after the deaths of four individuals who lost access to the “Medicaid-funded services that were designed to deliver medical care to people with the most disabling mental illnesses.” Republican legislators “led the charge,” citing both the deaths and a financial argument “that stripping services for severely mentally ill people will simply reroute them toward jails or emergency hospitalizations, which cost the state far more.” The lawmakers agreed to allocate “$10.4 million from state opioid and tobacco settlement funds. The amount will bring back peer support services, as well as the ACT program, for a year.” However, ACT healthcare professionals “said it could take months to revive their operations, since so many staff members changed jobs or moved when the program was defunded.”

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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

Neurology Advisor (4/6, Khaja) reports a study found that “suicidality present at the time of epilepsy diagnosis is associated with an increased risk for future treatment resistance among adults with focal epilepsy.” Researchers observed that “in multivariable analyses adjusting for confounders, suicidality at the time of epilepsy diagnosis was associated with a more than 2-fold increased risk for treatment resistance (relative risk [RR], 2.02). In contrast, mood and anxiety disorders alone were not significantly associated with treatment resistance after accounting for suicidality.” Furthermore, “the presence of suicidality substantially increased the probability of treatment resistance, from 16.3% among patients without psychiatric disturbances to 47.1% among those with suicidality alone (RR, 2.89). Although anxiety disorder alone was associated with a higher probability of treatment resistance (32.9%; RR, 2.02), this finding did not remain statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons.” The study was published in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Suicidality at Diagnosis Linked to Focal Epilepsy Treatment Resistance,”Hibah Khaja, Neurology Advisor , April 6, 2026

Psychiatric News (4/6) reports, “Residential substance use treatment facilities owned by private equity firms are more expensive and may offer fewer services compared with other for-profit facilities, according to a study.” While “using a secret-shopper approach, researchers called 341 residential [substance use disorder] treatment facilities and compared the prices and services of those acquired by private equity firms with those run by other for-profit entities.” The investigators found that “mean daily rates were 15.6% ($127) higher at private equity facilities than at other for-profit facilities.” Additionally, “facilities acquired by private equity firms were less likely to offer detoxification services than other for-profit facilities (74.8% versus 88.8%).” The findings were published in JAMA Health Forum.

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— “Private Equity-Run SUD Facilities Are Expensive, but Not Expansive, Psychiatric News , April 6, 2026

Psychiatric News (4/3) reported a study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that “among adults with methamphetamine use disorder, mirtazapine delivered in routine clinical practice reduced methamphetamine use compared with a placebo.” Researchers in 344-patient study found that “12 weeks of mirtazapine (30 mg/day) delivered in routine clinical practice produced a greater reduction in methamphetamine use days than placebo. There were no unexpected safety concerns from mirtazapine.”

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— “Mirtazapine Effectively Treats Methamphetamine Use Disorder,Psychiatric News , April 3, 2026

HealthDay (4/2, Mundell) reported a study suggests that “boys and men can also develop eating disorders, and rates for these psychiatric issues are rising – even as psychotherapists admit they have trouble spotting and treating them.” The study noted that “by some estimates, 1 in 7 men in the United States will experience a full-syndrome eating disorder by the age of 40.” Furthermore, the report “found that psychotherapists are often ill-equipped to spot these cases. When questioned, most clinicians said they lacked formal training in spotting body dysmorphia and eating disorders in boys and men, which are focused more on muscle-building and not characterized by excessive thinness.” Indeed, “only a small minority of the psychotherapists said they’d received any training in male eating disorders during their undergraduate or graduate studies.” The study was published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

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— “Psychotherapists Often Poorly Trained in Treating Muscle-Linked Disorders in Males,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, April 2, 2026

Psychiatric News (4/2) says, “Children who lost fathers in the course of active-duty military service were more likely to be diagnosed with a mental disorder one and two years after their loss, according to a report.” Children “who had lost fathers were three times more likely to have depressive disorders and four times more likely to have adjustment disorders one year after loss compared to non-bereaved children.” Additionally, “at year one, bereaved children…had more than nine times higher odds of acute stress disorder/PTSD.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

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— “Children Who Lose Fathers in Military Service at Higher Risk of Mental Disorders, Psychiatric News, April 2, 2026

Reuters (4/2, S K) says the CDC “on Thursday issued a health advisory warning of rising reports from U.S. ​jurisdictions detecting veterinary sedative medetomidine in the illegal drug ‌supply.” The CDC and the “Office of National Drug Control Policy warned public health professionals, clinicians, laboratorians and people at risk for ​overdose after medetomidine was detected in the fentanyl supply ​and linked to a severe withdrawal syndrome from exposure ⁠to it.” The two “agencies said it has increasingly been detected in law enforcement drug seizures, drug product and paraphernalia samples and wastewater samples, ​with the highest concentrations in the Northeast region.”

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— “Reuters Requires subscription.

HealthDay (3/31, Thompson) reports, “E-cigarettes loaded with nicotine can help people quit smoking, a new evidence review has concluded.” Investigators found that “nicotine vapes produce quit rates 20% to 40% higher than traditional nicotine replacement therapies like patches or gum.” The findings were published in Addiction.

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— “Nicotine E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit, Review Concludes,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, March 31, 2026

Psychiatric News (4/1) reports, “Gun control laws were associated with significantly lower firearm suicide rates in states that enacted them, according to a study.” Researchers found that “three state gun control laws were associated with lower firearm suicide rates: handgun permit laws, waiting periods for purchases, and requirements for a license for concealed carry (at -7%, -13%, and -9%, respectively).” When all of these “laws were in place, a state experienced a 25% lower firearm suicide rate compared with states without any of these laws.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Requiring Handgun Permits, Waiting Periods, and Licenses for Concealed Carry May Prevent Firearm Suicides, Psychiatric News, April 1, 2026