A double-blind trial was carried out in 37 elderly, hospitalizedpatients with endogenous depression to compare the eflectiveness of mianserin with that of amitriptyline. Patients received a mean daily dosage of 50 mg mianserin or 125 mg amitriptyline for 20 days. There was a statistically signijicant better response at the end of the trial period in the mianserin-treated group, as assessed on the Clinical Global Impressions scale but, although there was a marked difference between the two treatment groups in the mean total scores of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, the diference was not statistically signijicant. The symptoms 'depressed mood', and 'anxiety, somatic', however, were more favourably influenced by mianserin than by amitriptyline. Typical symptoms of involutional depression such as 'anxiety' and 'subjective feelings of restlessness', as assessed on the AMP-system, were injhenced significantly better in the mianserin group. The syndrome analysis of the AMP-system also showed significant differences in favour of mianserin in the mean total scores for the somatic depressive and for the vegetative syndrome after 20 days of treatment.

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