This Video Game Can Treat A Serious Disorder In Children, And It Has Been Approved By Health Authorities

On Monday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first ever treatment based on a video game for ADHD, a condition that can cause abnormal levels of impulsive and hyperactive behaviors.

What the FDA gave the green light to is a game called EndeavorRx, which can be prescribed to patients aged 8 to 12 who suffer from ADHD, the condition affects around 4 million children, according to the Center of Diseases Control and Prevention.

According to the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Jeffrey Shuren, EndeavorRx is a non-drug option to improve ADHD’s symptoms.

This approval follows FDA’s review of five clinical studies conducted on 600 children, which show the game has certain effects on treating ADHD. According to the studies, 30% of the test subjects no longer show a measurable attention deficit after they played the game for only 25 minutes, five days a week, in a course of four weeks.

That is not all. It is reported that the effect of this video-game-based treatment lasted for a whole month. However, side effects like aggression, dizziness, headache, emotional reaction, and frustration are to be expected. It is believed that these are just the normal symptoms show by hardcore gamers.

Even if the FDA approves the use of EndeavorRx game for ADHD, this is not an excuse for game addicts to spend more time gluing to their phones. The agency said specifically that the treatment involving video game is part of a larger program with other measures including medication, clinician-directed therapy, and educational programs.

According to Shuren, FDA’s approval of EndeavorRx as a treatment for ADHD speaks volume of the development of digital therapeutics and digital therapy.

According to Eddie Martucci, CEO of Akili, the company behind this game, it feels proud to make history when FDA giving their game the green light to be part of ADHD’s treatments.

As surprising as this may seem, this is not the first time video game to be proven to have some medicinal properties. A previous study shows Sea Hero Quest, a mobile game, has certain effects to identify symptoms of Alzheimer. Some others prove Candy Crush could improve brain functions.

However, some other research warn pixelated pursuits could make people more prone to schizophrenia and dementia.

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