In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just authorized the EndeavorRX video game as a medical prescription for children suffering from attention and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just authorized the video game EndeavorRX as a medical prescription for children suffering from attention deficit disorder.
- However, this game cannot be enough on its own, warn doctors who recommend it in addition to drug treatment.
- It is still unclear when it will hit the market but it is possible to register on a waiting list to obtain it, via the Internet.
Prescribing a video game to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? If this idea may seem completely absurd, it will nevertheless be implemented in the United States shortly. Indeed, as reported by the American site The Verge on June 15, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just authorized the game EndeavorRX as a medical prescription for children aged eight to twelve affected by this pathology.
To make this strange decision, the FDA relied on a seven-year study of 600 children with ADHD. People with this disorder find it difficult to concentrate, pay attention, and complete less complex tasks. They often struggle to sit still, wait their turn, and act impulsively. This disease is often more noticeable in children (diagnosis usually occurs around the age of seven) than in adults. However, in 40 to 70% of cases, it persists into adolescence. It is estimated that about 4% of adults still suffer from it. It even happens, very rarely, that this disorder is not diagnosed until adulthood.
During the study, children had to play 25 minutes of EndeavorRX five times a week for a month. Eventually, a third of the participants no longer showed any signs of attention disorder, noted the doctors, employed by the developer Akili Interactive. And if some players have felt headaches, this side effect remains minor compared to those favored by traditional drugs, assure the specialists.
No release date is known yet.
However, despite the good results of this test, this video game could not suffice as an alternative to drug treatments, they specify. It would be used as a supplement. But for now, EndeavorRX is not yet available in the market and no release date is known. If you are interested in this product, you can register on the game’s waiting list, accessible on the Akili Interactive official website.
“EndeavorRx is the first and only FDA-cleared prescription treatment for children with ADHD, delivered through a video game experience!”, is it written. The game’s trailer presents it as a classic experience where the player travels between different universes in which he must avoid a series of obstacles and collect rewards.
Video games and health
This is not the first time that video games have been used as a fun way to improve children’s health. Indeed, as The Verge recalls, in 2010, the FDA approved a glucometer that children could plug into Nintendo DS. As soon as they tested their glucose levels, the little ones obtained points which they could spend in the exclusive “Knock Em Downs™: World’s fair video game”.
Concerning adults, several studies have shown that video games boost brain function could be used for the treatment of certain neurological pathologies or even chronic low back pain.
But as with all good things, it is not good to abuse it. In 2018, the World Health Organization recognized “video game disorder” in its 11and version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). This is defined as “behavior related to the practice of video games or games on the Internet, which is characterized by a loss of control over the game, an increased priority given to the game, to the point that it takes precedence over other centers of interests and activities of daily living, and by continued or increased gambling despite harmful repercussions”. If only a small part of the players is affected by “addiction to video games”, all must remain attentive to possible symptoms, alerts the institution.
See the game’s trailer below:
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