Safety and Efficacy of Venlafaxine XR in Elderly Patients With Major Depression

Inclusion Criteria: * men and women of all races who are 60 years old or older; * a DSM-IV diagnosis of major depressive episode without psychotic features; * 17-item Ham-D score of \>15 for potential subjects who have not received any antidepressant treatment during this illness episode or HAM-D \> 11 for potential subjects who have received treatment with an antidepressant (other than venlafaxine-XR) during this illness episode; * a MMSE score of \>15. Exclusion Criteria: * history of meeting DSM-IV criteria for mania, schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder; * history of substance abuse or dependence, including alcohol, within the last three months; * current hyponatremia (as defined as a serum sodium level \< 130 meq/l); * untreated or uncontrolled hypertension; * a history of being unable to tolerate venlafaxine-XR or venlafaxine immediate release formulation; * history of receiving venlafaxine-XR or venlafaxine immediate release formulation of 6 or more weeks at 300mg/d during index depressive episode; (7) EKG revealing QTc \> 480 msec; * myocardial infarction, unstable angina, palpitation or cardiogenic syncope within 3 months prior to entering this study; * the presence of active suicidal ideation with intent.