Neurolief, a medical technology company developing brain neuromodulation therapies for mental health and neurological conditions, is bringing two prescription therapies to U.S. veterans through a new Department of Veterans Affairs contract, including ProlivRx for adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) who have not achieved adequate relief from antidepressant medication, and RelivionMG for the acute treatment of migraine.
Multiple VA medical centers across the U.S. are prescribing the therapies within the Veterans Health Administration, the largest integrated health system in the U.S. serving nine million enrolled veterans annually.
Proliv Rx is an FDA-approved prescription at-home brain neuromodulation therapy for adults with major depressive disorder who have not achieved an adequate response to at least one antidepressant medication. Based on External Combined Occipital and Trigeminal Afferent Stimulation (eCOT-AS), the non-invasive therapy uses three independent stimulation channels and six electrodes to stimulate branches of the occipital and trigeminal nerves across the forehead and back of the head, sending signals to brain networks involved in mood regulation without penetrating the skull. The treatment is prescribed and managed under physician supervision and self-administered by the patient at home, supported by a digital platform for remote monitoring.
"Too many people I treat have carried depression for years, moving from one antidepressant to the next without relief, and many have lost hope that anything will help," said Mark George, M.D., a world expert in brain stimulation and depression and distinguished professor of psychiatry, radiology and neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). "Proliv Rx gives us a rigorously studied, non-drug therapy that individuals can use at home under our care, and it lets us reach those who have run out of other answers and offer them a real chance to feel like themselves again."
Depression and migraine are among the most common conditions treated in the VA health system, with roughly one in three veterans in VA primary care having symptoms of depression, and more than half a million veterans have been diagnosed with migraine in the VA. By allowing effective treatment to continue outside the clinic under clinical oversight, these therapies extend care to veterans who face barriers to frequent in-clinic visits, including those in rural and underserved areas.
