Treatments using venlafaxine

The active ingredients of this invention include (1-[2-(dimethylamino)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl) ethyl] cyclohexanol), or therapeutically acceptable salts thereof, which are known generally as venlafaxine and its analogues. Venlafaxine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,186 (Husbands et al.) and has been previously reported to be useful as an antidepressant U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,186 teaches the production of venlafaxine and its analogues and is incorporated herein as reference. For the purposes of this disclosure, and the claims that follow, the use of venlafaxine is understood to include the free base and pharmaceutically acceptable salt forms of venlafaxine, the racemate and its individual enantiomers, and venlafaxine analogs, both as racemates and as their individual enantiomers. This invention provides a method of treating obesity, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, late luteal phase disphoric disorder (premenstrual syndrome), attention deficit disorder, with and without hyperactivity, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, bulimia nervosa or Shy Drager Syndrome in a mammal by administering to the mammal an effective amount of a hydroxycycloalkanephenethyl amine of the following structural formula: in which A is a moiety of the formula wherethe dotted line represents optional unsaturation;Ris hydrogen or alkyl;Ris alkyl;Ris hydrogen, alkyl, formyl, or alkanol;Rand Rare, independently, hydrogen, hydroxyl, alkyl, alkoxy, alkanoyloxy, cyano, nitro, alkylmercapto, amino, alkylamino, dialkylamino, alkanamido, halo, trifluoromethyl, or taken together, methylene dioxy;Ris hydrogen or alkyl; andn is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4;or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.