[News] Neurofeedback in the News

[Nakamova]

NY Times article detailing incremental gains in popularity of neurofeedback. Slowly but surely...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/he...gewanted=1&hpw

[epileric]

It seems like NFB for epilepsy is going to take a while though. Hopefully the cost will drop & it will be covered by more insurances if its given validity.

[Bernard]

That's a well written article. Nice to hear that the NIMH study appears to have been a success:

...
The treatment is also gaining attention from mainstream researchers, including some former skeptics. The National Institute of Mental Health recently sponsored its first study of neurofeedback for A.D.H.D.: a randomized, controlled trial of 36 subjects.

The results are to be announced Oct. 26 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In an interview in the summer, the study’s director, Dr. L. Eugene Arnold, an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Ohio State, noted that there had been “quite a bit of improvement” in many of the children’s behavior, as reported by parents and teachers.

Dr. Arnold said that if the results bore out that neurofeedback was making the difference, he would seek financing for a broader study, with as many as 100 subjects.
...

[Endless]

My insurance company won't pay for it because it is "experimental." In order for them to pay for it there have to be a certain number of research studies showing it is effective.

[lindinig]

Nice. We talked to a college student at the nfb office on Monday. He was very nice and shared his brain disorders with us (dyslexia, insomnia, and adhd). He says he's having a positive experience with nfb.

We had a minor setback. My son had a seizure (or cluster) sometime over the weekend. I had to pick him up at school on Monday because he was so exhausted, he was falling asleep in class. I picked him up at the nurse's office and he was in such a deep sleep, it took a few minutes to wake him up. He was out of school Tuesday and Wednesday, recovering. I noticed that he didn't suffer any memory loss and his cognitive ability had actually returned to normal by Wednesday. He went 16 weeks without a seizure this time! Let's hope this is his last seizure.

[Bernard]

My insurance company won't pay for it because it is "experimental." In order for them to pay for it there have to be a certain number of research studies showing it is effective.

Did they say what the number was?

[Endless]

Nope. Who knows. Personally, I think this kind of thing should be regulatory in nature. It seems like they never cover new things unless it is financially beneficial for them to do so, or someone sues them.

Not to gripe on about insurance (now watch me do it), I called mine and pointed out that brand name lamictal is cheaper than generic, and it is a more reliable drug for us. Win-win. They still refuse to cover it because they only cover generics when there is a generic available. You can have your doc write a letter to appeal, but the copay is still enormous for the non-generic.

So even if there are X number of studies that show that neurofeedback is effective, and even if it reduces the cost of seizure care over the long run, who knows if they will cover it?

[Bernard]

Yep. That's why studies like the one mentioned in the OP are so key. It's slowly gaining acceptance amongst the critics.