By Paul Sandle
LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Children with ADHD (attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder) show signs of improvement afterplaying a videogame for 30 minutes a day rather than taking apill, the U.S. company developing the treatment said onWednesday.
Diagnoses for ADHD have risen in recent decades, and some9.5 percent of children aged 3-17 in the United States had thecondition in 2012, according to the Center for Disease Controland Prevention.
Children in the pilot study - 80 aged between eight and 12,half of which had ADHD - showed improved working memory andlevels of attention, and some parent ratings of symptoms alsorose, according to the results presented at the American Academyof Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's 62nd annual meeting.
The company, Akili Interactive Labs, said it would now "movefull steam ahead" into a full randomised trial, that ifsuccessful would support a filing with U.S. regulator, the FDA.
Medicating the condition is big business, with Shire - a leading maker of ADHD drugs, including Vyvanse - sayingthere were 63 million prescriptions for the condition in theUnited States last year, with just under half for children.
Shire is an investor in Akili Interactive Labs, which wasfounded by start-up investor PureTech Health.
Eddie Martucci, co-founder and chief executive of AkiliInteractive Labs, said the videogame might also be used inconjuction with medication.
Called Project EVO, the game is designed to improve achild's ability to process "cognitive interference" - ormultiple streams of information - potentially helping problemsolving ability, working memory and attention, Martucci said.
In the game, the player has to steer a character down ariver while making decisions about objects that appear onscreen. (Editing by Louise Ireland)