Flow depression treatment helps 81% of patients to feel better after three weeks

● Largest user analysis of its type in a real-world setting

● Drug-free, at-home treatment helped 81% of patients feel better after three weeks

● Minimal side effects, no prescription required and Flow can be delivered to your home within 48 hours

London, Wednesday 12 August, 2020 - In the largest user analysis of its type, 81% of patients using a brain stimulation headset and therapy app to treat depression reported feeling better after three weeks, with minimal side effects. Flow is the first drug-free, at-home treatment of its type to be medically approved in the EU and UK. In the user analysis, 81% of patients reported feeling better after three weeks of treatment. 34% of patients reported an improvement in their mood, while 32% of patients reported a reduction in anxiety and 29% reported a reduction in suicidal thoughts.

“COVID is changing how depression is managed, and driving a meaningful increase in demand for effective, at-home treatments that are safe, have minimal side effects and do not require a prescription,” says Daniel Mansson, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Flow. “The results in this user analysis are comparable to antidepressants, and demonstrate the significant benefits of using Flow to self-manage depression. They add to the growing body of medical evidence that supports the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for the treatment of depression - and gives further impetus for the NHS to add Flow as one of their first lines of treatment.”

The type of brain stimulation used in the Flow headset (tDCS) has been shown in numerous clinical randomised controlled trials, including New England Journal of Medicine and the British Journal of Psychiatry, to have a similar impact to antidepressants, but with fewer and less-severe side effects.^1,2,3

UK clinics, including The Chelsea Psychology Clinic in London, are now offering patients the Flow treatment in combination with traditional therapy options.

Depression is the leading cause of global disability, affecting over 300 million people, with a huge cost for healthcare systems worldwide.⁴ Nearly one in four adults in the UK are affected by a mental illness.⁵ The economic cost of mental illness in the UK is an estimated £105.2 billion,⁶  and one in three work sickness notes handed out by GPs are for mental health reasons, including depression.⁷

While using the Flow tDCS headset, patients engaged with a therapy app program, which offers personalised behavioural therapy in areas proven to reduce symptoms of depression, including nutrition, exercise and sleep. NHS trusts and healthcare professionals can now recommend the Flow app to patients as it was recently added to the ORCHA App Library.

The Flow headset is available to buy here and can be delivered in 48 hours. The Flow app is free to download on AppStore and GooglePlay.

About the user analysis

In the user analysis, 850 patients with clinically diagnosed depression used the at-home Flow treatment, which comprises a wearable headset that gently stimulates the brain using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). During the treatment, patients engaged with the Flow therapy app. Patients were assessed at the beginning of the treatment and at monthly follow-ups using MADRS, one of the world’s most popular, clinically validated, diagnostic questionnaires to measure the severity of depressive episodes. Psychological measures (wellbeing, mood, anxiety, suicidal thoughts) were the primary outcomes. 81% of patients reported feeling better after three weeks of treatment. 34% of patients reported an improvement in their mood, 32% of patients reported a reduction in anxiety and 29% reported a reduction in suicidal thoughts.

About Flow Neuroscience

Medical device company Flow has developed the first, and only, medically approved home brain stimulation treatment for depression. The headset and accompanying therapy app empowers and motivates individuals to take control, self-manage and reduce the risk of depression with effective, non-pharmacological, digital alternatives. Flow was founded by clinical psychologist Daniel Mansson and neuroscientist Erik Rehn, and consists of prominent researchers in the field of psychiatry, clinical psychology, brain stimulation, neuroscience and machine learning. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Sweden. For more information, please visit https://flowneuroscience.com/home/partnership/

References

¹Brunoni, A. R., Moffa, A. H., Sampaio-Junior, B., Borrione, L., Moreno, M. L., Fernandes, R. A., Benseñor, I. M. (2017). Trial of Electrical Direct-Current Therapy versus Escitalopram for Depression. New England Journal of Medicine (26), 2523–2533. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1612999

²Brunoni, A. R., Moffa, A. H., Fregni, F., Palm, U., Padberg, F., Blumberger, D. M., … Loo, C. K. (2016). Transcranial direct current stimulation for acute major depressive episodes: meta-analysis of individual patient data. The British Journal of Psychiatry : The Journal of Mental Science, 208(6), 522–531. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.115.164715

³Bikson et al., Safety of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: Evidence Based Update 2016. Brain Stimulation, 9(2016), 641–661. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2016.06.004

⁴WHO Depression key facts https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

⁵NHS England: Mental Health https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/

⁶Department of Health: No health without mental health

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/215808/dh_123993.pdf

⁷One in three 'sick notes' for mental health, says NHS https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41124238