Video Game Rx

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first prescription video game for children ages 8 to 12 who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Called EndeavorRx, the game has undergone five clinical studies comprising more than 600 subjects and spanning a period of seven years. In one study, after playing the game for 25 minutes per day, five days per week for four weeks, one-third of participants no longer displayed attention deficit on at least one of the measures typically used to define objective attention. In addition, the improvements lasted for up to a month following treatment.

The game consists basically of dodging obstacles and collecting objects. The proprietary technology targets specific neural systems in the brain that are associated with cognitive dysfunction. Common side effects of frustration and headache were mild compared to traditional drugs. Although the developers stress that EndeavorRx is not a substitute for established treatments, it does provide another alternative. And while this is a first for ADHD, virtual reality has been studied previously to ease pain in burn victims, and could one day provide help for other diseases like Alzheimer’s.