In a three-week study of 10,000 general practice patients with depressive illness, a once nightly dose of maprotiline 75 mg (Ludiomil) was effective therapy in three-quarters of the patients who completed the study. At this dose the drug was well tolerated, and troublesome side-effects presented in only a small percentage of patients. Drowsiness was the most commonly reported side-effect, and the main reason for stopping treatment. The drug was acceptable to most physicians, and in this study was used in a wide age range of patients and over a broad spectrum of depressive illness.