The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of Rejoyn, the first digital prescription treatment for major depressive disorder, reports CNN.
What is 'Rejoyn', the first digital treatment for depression – Photo Shutterstock
Specifically, Rejoyn, produced by Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Click Therapeutics, is a phone app designed to be used in conjunction with antidepressant medications. It is for people aged 22 and over who have received a diagnosis of major depressive disorder.
Rejoyn uses a six-week program that combines a new approach called cognitive-emotional training and cognitive-behavioral therapy lessons, according to a news release.
Data shows that 1 in 6 US adults suffer from depression, and the rates are on the rise. Other studies indicate that up to 30% of people who use antidepressant medications have a partial response, meaning they continue to experience depressive symptoms while on medication.
“Rejoyn represents an exciting new adjunctive treatment option for addressing the symptoms of major depressive disorder that complements the current standard of care. While traditional approaches are often effective, many remain with only a partial response to treatment. ” Dr. John Kraus, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Otsuka, said in the release.
Cognitive-emotional training
Also called Emotional Faces Memory Task, the emotional cognitive training used by the app, can stimulate the amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, brain regions thought to be involved in depression, and have antidepressant effects, preliminary studies show. Specifically, people are asked to identify and compare the emotions displayed on a series of faces.
“Rejoyn has a neuromodulatory mechanism designed to act as a physical therapy for the brain, providing personalized and consistent brain training exercises designed to help improve connections in brain regions affected by depression“, says Dr. Brian Iacoviello, Scientific Advisor at Click Therapeutics and co-inventor of the Emotional Faces Memory Task, in the press release.
But other experts are leery of Rejoyn's approach and warn that the research is still in its infancy.
In the test phase, users who used the Rejoyn app experienced an improvement in depressive symptoms, but this change was not significantly different from that seen in users who used a fake app. No side effects were reported during the study.
“If the benefit is minimal but the risks are minimal, maybe there's no harm in trying it. Hopefully we'll see more evidence in the future because as a clinical psychiatrist I want to make sure people are using something that will make them feel better,” said Dr. John Torous, director of the Division of Digital Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who was not involved in the development of Rejoyn, according to CNN.
To be able to download the app, available from the end of 2024, patients need a prescription.
The psychiatrist said there are thousands of mental health apps available for various disorders, and many of them do not require a prescription. He emphasized that doctors need to understand the specific needs and preferences of their patients before recommending a particular digital tool.
Psychologist robot
With the advent of artificial intelligence, more platforms have emerged that people turn to for problems of the mind.
Thus, more and more bots are used by people around the world when they need a psychologist. The popularity of these tools does not surprise specialists, but they point out that such technology cannot gather all the information that a human would gather, and its advice cannot be competent, however, for those who need help immediately, the robot can be useful.
In Romania, on paper the number of cases of depression is small, but doctors believe that it is an underreporting. Before the pandemic, according to data from the Ministry of Health, 500,000 people suffered from depression.
