The management of mild depression and its concomitant associated symptoms of general debility presents a constant and widespread challenge to psychiatry both in hospital and in general practice. It is inevitable that at some stage resort will be made to drugs. This is a tempting pharmacological field and the level of interest is indicated by the available plethora of alternatives. A recently introduced drug in current use and purported to be of use specifically in this field is Deanol (Deaner) which is the p-acetamidobenzoic acid salt of 2-dimethyl-aminoethanol or Atrol which is the bitartrate of the same base.