Depression in the elderly is often not recognised and is frequently under!treated[ Reboxetine is a selective nor! adrenaline reuptake inhibitor "selective NRI# which is e}ective and well tolerated in the treatment of depressed adult patients[ This prospective\ uncontrolled\ multicentre study was designed to assess the e.cacy and tolerability of reboxetine as maintenance therapy for major depressive disorder or dysthymia in 059 elderly patients "aged 54Γ83 years#[ One hundred and thirty!nine patients completed the 5!week run!in period and entered the long!term phase0 93 patients completed the 41!week treatment period[ The proportion of patients with CGI!global improvement ratings assessed as {much| and {very much| improved increased from 04[0) at week 1 to 77[6) at week 5 and to 84[1) at week 41[ The mean HAM!D total score showed a reduction from 13[9 at baseline to 09[3 at week 5 and 6[4 at week 41[ Twenty!_ve patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events[ The most frequently reported adverse events were nausea "00[8)#\ insomnia "00[8)#\ headache "09[9)# and dry mouth "8[0)#\ and these were of mild or moderate severity[ In summary\ results from this study show reboxetine to be e}ective\ and well tolerated in both the short! and long!term treatment of elderly depressed or dysthymic patients[ Copyright Γ 1999 John Wiley + Sons\ Ltd[ KEY WORDS*reboxetine^elderly^long!term^major depressive disorder^dysthymia^adverse events^e.cacy