NxStage Reports Sustained Reduction in Clinical Depressive Symptoms for Daily Home Hemodialysis Patients Afte...( A nearly 50 percent i...),Health

• A nearly 50 percent improvement in mean BDI scores occurred for patients with moderate to severe depressive symptoms.

• Baseline BDI scores did not significantly differ amongst patients who did not complete 12 month follow-up compared to those who did, indicating that there was no biased selection in the compilation of data.

Dr. Frederic Finkelstein, MD, Chief of Nephrology at the Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven, Conn. and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Yale University Medical School as well as an investigator on the FREEDOM study, presents the 12-month BDI data today during the 29th Annual Dialysis Conference in Houston.

"Depression is a serious, often undiagnosed problem for ESRD patients. The 12-month study results are extremely encouraging because they indicate that for eligible patients, switching to daily home hemodialysis may provide lasting relief of depression symptoms, especially for patients in greatest need -- those with moderate to severe depression," says Dr. Finkelstein. "In turn, addressing the problem of depression in patients could translate into less hospitalizations and improved morbidity and mortality, helping to alleviate the physical and emotional burden on patients and their families, as well as the financial burden on the healthcare system."

"We are pleased to see FREEDOM's latest interim results show how daily home therapy with the NxStage System One can lessen the impact of depressive symptoms on patients with ESRD," says Jeff Burbank, CEO of NxStage Medical, Inc. "FREEDOM continues to reaffirm our mission to bring long-term health and quality of life benefits to more patients, and we look forward to sharing further interim results from FREEDOM as other milestones are reached."

The 12-month BDI results come out of the ongoing FREEDO
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