Parents of kids with ADHD would certainly be happy with the news that a prescription video game can now treat kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. If you are among the many who are excited about this new development in medicine, there are certain things you need to know.

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration, EndeavorRX, formerly Project EVO, is the first-ever prescription video game which, according to a study, can treat attention deficiency in kids aged eight to 12 years old.

7 Years of Clinical Trials

Don't expect to see a video-game-like in your child's device even though the Endeavor RX developer, Akili Interactive, described it as the "first video game" that can legitimately be promoted and prescribed as medicine in the United States "that may go down in history."

This, as indicated in The Verge's report, is the milestone decision from the FDA, which authorizes doctors "to prescribe the iPhone and iPad game" for children with ADHD and are aged eight to 12.

It took seven years of clinical trials in more than 600 children to determine if the game could indeed improve attention disorder.

Marked Improvement in Kids' Attention Span

Reports said EndeavorRX, the favorite among the studies Akili Interactive conducted, one-third of children who underwent treatment through the video game do not have "a measurable attention deficit" anymore, on, at least one gauge of "objective attention." 

Additionally, after reportedly playing the "obstacle-dodging, target-collecting game for 25 minutes every day, five days each week for four weeks, the children are seen improvements in terms of ADHD impairments.

The company elaborated and emphasized that such improvements after one month of treatment with this prescription video game, were sustained for up to one month. 

The company also said the most typical side effects like headaches and frustration were apparently mild. They are indeed milder than traditional medicines; any parent would look forward to what's now called "virtual medicine."

An Supplemental Treatment, Not an Alternative

According to disclosures doctors working for the developer, the "virtual medicine" is not enough to suggest that it should be used as a substitute to what the medical field considers "established and recommended treatments" for ADHD.

However, the doctors' conclusions to the study indicated that EndeavorRX is an additional treatment to try possibly. The medical experts shared excitement and saw a concept they have followed for many years, "make it this far."

In 2014, the doctors recalled writing how the video game could be the future treatment not just for ADHD but also for Alzheimer's disease. 

Three years later, they studied further how prescription video games could be the future of medicine as a whole. They happily shared, it is a real thing and no longer something that's seen in the future.

The next step for EndeavorRX, which you may already be waiting for, is its official launch. However, according to an Akili representative, through The Verge, it already technically opened up for a limited number of registrations under the relaxed COVID-19 enactment of the FDA.

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