Game-Based Digital Therapy for Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis Reduces Anxiety 

Use of a game-based digital therapy (Personal Zen; Wise Therapeutics, New York, NY) reduced symptoms of anxiety in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). The digital therapy requires a prescription and uses adaptive, personalized gameplay to address mental health needs, and can serve as an at-home, nonpharmaceutical treatment for anxiety for people with MS. 

This app-based therapy reduced self-reported anxiety by 38.3% in adults and 20.1% in adolescence. Broad negative moods were reduced by 14.5%, measured by the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). Anxiety and depression occur more frequently in individuals with MS compared with other chronic diseases or the general population, making such treatments essential to person-centered care in MS.

"Like many of our proof-of-concept trials, this study used our lead wellness product Personal Zen to demonstrate the potential clinical impact of our ABMT products," said Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, cofounder and chief science officer of Wise Therapeutics. "Leveraging data from these studies, as well as real world deployments of Personal Zen, we are now developing new ABMT therapies with adaptive gameplay features that personalize the experience to the attentional habits of individual patients."

Raj Amin, chief executive officer of Wise Therapeutics, added: "Our intention is to market our next generation of products as prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) for targeted populations like MS, taking advantage of new regulatory and reimbursement pathways that have emerged to help meet the heightened need for accessible mental health treatments."

This app is the first digital application of attention bias modification training (ABMT), a tool proven effective for anxiety reduction in many populations. The feasibility and preliminary efficacy of ABMT was tested and delivered through a mobile gamified version as a digital emotional health tool for individuals with MS.