Healio (1/8, Herpen) reports, “The rate of alcohol-related hospitalizations in the U.S. stabilized between 2016 and 2022, but mortality rates, length of stay and total health care costs all increased, according to data.” Researchers found that “the mean length of hospital stay for alcohol-related issues increased from 5.6 to 6.2days.” Study results indicate that “hospitalization costs increased even after accounting for inflation and amounted to $32.6 billion in 2022.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Ancillary concerns related to alcohol-related hospitalizations increased from 2016 to 2022,”Robert Herpen , Healio, January 8, 2026

Psychiatric News (1/8) reports, “APA has filed a lawsuit along with a class of patients and families against health insurer EmblemHealth…over the company’s alleged use of a ‘ghost network’ of mental health” professionals. APA CEO and Medical Director Marketa M. Wills, MD, MBA, said, “Ghost networks’ impacts are widespread and harmful. … Not only does this practice hurt patients and families who are seeking care, it also harms clinicians who are dedicating their career to helping these individuals.” APA President Theresa M. Miskimen Rivera, MD, said, “When insurance companies use ghost networks, they are not only reaping profits by misleading consumers, they are also hurting people who are in need of mental health care.”

Related Links:

— “No Ghosting: APA Files Lawsuit Against EmblemHealth, Psychiatric News , January 8, 2026

HealthDay (1/7, Gotkine) reports, “Dried blood collection derived from capillary blood shows potential for Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarker testing, according to a study.” Researchers “examined the potential of dried plasma spot (DPS) and dried blood spot (DBS) analysis, derived from capillary blood, for detecting AD biomarkers, including phosphorylated tau at amino acid 217 (p-tau217), glial fibrillary acidic protein, and neurofilament light.” The investigators “identified strong correlations between DPS p-tau217 and venous plasma p-tau217. There was a progressive increase in DPS p-tau217 with increasing disease severity, with good accuracy for predicting cerebrospinal fluid biomarker positivity.” By “using paired venous plasma samples, glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament light were successfully detected, with strong correlations between DBS and DPS, respectively.” The findings were published in Nature Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Dried Blood Collection Shows Potential for Alzheimer Disease Biomarker Testing,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay , January 7, 2026

MedPage Today (1/7, Firth) reports, “Yoga alongside standard buprenorphine therapy hastened opioid withdrawal recovery and improved autonomic regulation compared with buprenorphine alone, an early-stage randomized trial in India showed.” Researchers found that “among 59 participants with opioid use disorder (OUD) in the intent-to-treat analysis, those in the yoga group recovered from withdrawal faster than those in the control group…with a median stabilization time of 5 days versus 9 days, respectively.” Participants in the yoga group “had better heart rate variability improvements, with large effects on low frequency power, high frequency power, and low frequency/high frequency ratio.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCP Live (1/6, Derman) reports a study found that “changing therapists or therapy approach does not offer additional benefit for adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) who do not respond to initial psychotherapy,” although “further psychotherapy after initial non-response produces modest reductions in depressive symptoms.” The study “showed a modest but statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms after continuing psychotherapy. However, investigators observed no significant differences in symptom reduction, response, or remission rates between the 3 treatment strategies.” Investigators concluded, “Switching therapist or both therapist and method does not appear to offer additional benefit, but also does not hinder outcomes.” The study was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Switching Therapists for Psychotherapy Offers No Advantage in MDD,”Chelsie Derman , HCP Live, January 6, 2026