NxStage Reports Sustained Reduction in Clinical Depressive Symptoms for Daily Home Hemodialysis Patients Afte...( Latest results from FREEDOM study sho...),Health

Latest results from FREEDOM study show continued, significant relief of depressive symptoms, which have been implicated in higher rates of hospitalization and death among ESRD patients

LAWRENCE, Mass., March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM), a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today announced the latest interim results from its ongoing FREEDOM study, which show that the significant reduction in depressive symptoms experienced by patients after four months of daily home hemodialysis therapy with the NxStage System One(TM) continues to be sustained after 12 months on daily home hemodialysis.

Various studies suggest that 20 to 30 percent of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) suffer from clinical depression, the symptoms of which may result in changing sleep habits, lack of appetite, reduced activity level, as well as inability to work and interact in social situations. Moreover, increased presence of depressive symptoms have been linked to significant increases in hospitalization rates and mortality in the dialysis population in large, multinational studies such as the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS).

These interim results from the FREEDOM study compared patients' baseline and 12-month Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), a validated, commonly-used score reflecting depressive symptoms. The 12 month BDI data also focuses on patients with scores greater than 15, which are suggestive of moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Twelve-month BDI data from the FREEDOM study showed:

• 24.6 percent of patients involved in the study had a BDI score greater than 15 at baseline (in-center therapy) compared to only 17.5 percent of patients at 12 months of daily home hemodialysis therapy.