Effectiveness of a digital therapeutic as adjunct to treatment with medication in pediatric ADHD

EN BREF ...

« Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelop- mental disorder of persistent impaired attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that negatively affects daily functioning and quality of life. ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed pediatric mental health disorders, with a prevalence estimated to be 5% worldwide and exerts a substantial burden on families and society. Attentional difficulties specifically are associated with impairment in several areas, such as academic functioning, shy and passive social behavior, and impaired adaptive functioning in children/adolescents. Front-line treatment for ADHD includes pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, which have demonstrated short-term efficacy. However, there are limitations to both modalities of treatment. Based in part on these limitations, there has been considerable interest in additional approaches to augment multimodal ADHD management. Digital therapeutics may offer improved access, minimal side effects, and low potential for abuse while providing targeted treatment options for improving cognitive functions, such as attention. A previous randomized controlled trial (STARS-ADHD), for example, demon- strated AKL-T01, a video-game based digital therapeutic, adminis- tered for 4 weeks at home, significantly improved attentional functioning as measured by the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA®) in children diagnosed with ADHD, and a greater proportion of children on AKL-T01 showed evidence of improved ADHD-related impairment (IRS) compared to a digital control intervention after 4 weeks of treatment. Although the IRS change scores did not achieve statistical significance, a trend was observed (p = 0.09) that favored the active treatment. » En bref issu de l’étude.