Doctors in the US have been prescribing a unique new treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children – a video game.
Designed in conjunction with neuroscientists, EndeavorRx, known in clinical trials as AKL-T01, is the first FDA-approved video game designed to treat ADHD in children. It is currently only available in the US by prescription but its creators are hoping to have it approved in other countries.
The game, which involves controlling a little alien racing across different environments to complete tasks, specifically trains users to concentrate on multitasking and to block out distractions – cognitive areas which often need a boost in ADHD.
In a randomised controlled trial published in The Lancet Digital Health, 348 patients, aged 8–12 years old and not receiving medication for ADHD, were randomised to receive the game intervention or a control.
For a control, the clinical trial made use of a different game specifically designed as a digital word game which did not target areas involved with ADHD.
Over four weeks, participants were instructed to play the intervention or placebo game for five minutes, five times a day, five days a week.
The trial found that compliance was high, with 83% of treatment session being played. Treatment-related adverse events were mild and included frustration (5 [3%] of 180) and headache (3 [2%] of 180).
ADHD was measured by Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) Attention Performance Index (API). The mean change from baseline on the TOVA API was 0·93 in the AKL-T01 group and 0·03 in the control group.
An extension of the trial found that EndeavorRx also worked as an adjunct treatment in children with ADHD who were also receiving stimulant treatment for their condition. One hundred and thirty were enrolled in the On Stimulants cohort, and 76 in the No Stimulants cohort. Despite severe comorbidities being exclusionary, around 20% of the included participants still presented with at least one DSM-listed comorbidity. The trial involved a four week treatment period, a four week pause, and another four week treatment period. Improvements for both groups were found from the first treatment period, and continued into the pause and into the second treatment period, suggesting continuing and lasting gains.
Eddie Martucci, chief executive of Akili which produced the game, told the BBC that EandeavorRx offers something that pharmaceuticals currently cannot. “It is something that’s very difficult to get through molecular means, like taking a pill. But it turns out that sensory stimuli can actually directly stimulate parts of the brain controlling cognitive function.”
