FDA OKs first device to treat ADHD in kids
As diagnosis rates of ADHD among children skyrocket, a new medical device for the treatment of the disorder could soon hit the market.
The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it permitted marketing for the first device to treat ADHD, or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. The authorization was granted to the life sciences company NeuroSigma based in Los Angeles.
Called the Monarch external Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) System, the prescription-only device is for children ages 7 to 12 who are not taking ADHD prescription medication.
The Monarch eTNS, an instrument the size of a cellphone, is designed for use at home with adult supervision. It connects via wire to a small patch placed on the forehead of the patient, generating a low-level electrical pulse to the brain.
The connection provides a tingling sensation on the skin, according to the FDA, and delivers a low-level electrical stimulation to the branches of the trigeminal nerve, which then sends therapeutic signals to the parts of the brain associated with ADHD. The FDA said the eTNS increases activity in the brain regions that are known to be important in regulating attention, emotion and behavior.
“This new device offers a safe, nondrug option for treatment of ADHD in pediatric patients through the use of mild nerve stimulation, a first of its kind,” said a statement from Carlos Peña, director of the Division of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
Before Friday, the FDA had granted only drug treatment for ADHD.
Clinical trials, according to the FDA, suggested that the response time of the eTNS could be up to four weeks to become evident. A trial of 62 children with moderate to severe ADHD showed subjects using the eTNS had “statistically significant improvement” compared with ADHD children who were given a placebo device.
After four weeks into the study, the average ADHD-RS score – used to measure ADHD – had decreased from 34.1 points to 23.4 points. That’s compared with a decrease of 33.7 to 27.5 points among the placebo group.
ADHD, a common and growing disorder that begins in childhood, includes difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior and very high levels of activity. Symptoms of ADHD are long-lasting, impair the person’s functioning and cause the person to fall behind normal development for his or her age.
In the USA, the number of children diagnosed with ADHD is up more than 30% over the past eight years, and 2.4 million commercially insured American children were diagnosed with the condition in 2014.
The FDA said the Monarch eTNS has several side effects – drowsiness, an increase in appetite, trouble sleeping, teeth clenching, headache and fatigue – but no serious adverse events associated with its use.