Patent ID: 7122561

Claim:
A method of treating a skin condition of a subject wherein the skin condition is selected from the group of conditions (a) vitiligo and (b) melanomas, which comprises administering to the subject an effective amount of a compound of formula (1) wherein n=0 or 1; p is 0 or 1; q is 0 or 1 when n=p=q=0, R 3 and R 4 represent hydrogen or together represent a carbon to carbon double bond; when n=0 and one of p and q=1, R 3 and R 4 together and one of R 5 and R 6 together or R 7 and R 8 together represent carbon to carbon double bonds, R 3 and R 4 together represent a carbon to carbon double bond and R 5 and R 6 or R 7 and R 8 represent hydrogen atoms, R 3 and R 4 represent hydrogen and one of R 5 and R 6 together or R 7 and R 8 together represent carbon to carbon double bonds or R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and R 8 all represent hydrogen atoms; when n=0 and p=q=1, R 3 and R 4 together and one of R 5 and R 6 together or R 7 and R 8 together represent carbon to carbon double bonds the other of R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and R 8 representing hydrogen, R 3 and R 4 together represent a carbon to carbon double bond and R 5 and R 6 or R 7 and R 8 represent hydrogen atoms, R 3 and R 4 represent hydrogen and one of R 5 and R 6 together or R 7 and R 8 together represent carbon to carbon double bonds the other of R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and R 8 representing hydrogen, R 3 and R 4 together, R 5 and R 6 together and R 7 and R 8 together represent carbon to carbon double bonds or R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and R 8 all represent hydrogen atoms; or optionally when n is 1 R 2 and R 3 together represent a carbon to carbon double bond and one or more of R 4 and R 5 together, R 5 and R 6 together, R 6 and R 7 together or R 7 and R 8 together represent a carbon to carbon double bond the other of R 4 to R 8 representing hydrogen; m=1, 2 or 3; when m=1, R 1 represents an alkoxy group having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms or a hydroxy group; when m=2, each R 1 independently represents an alkoxy group having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms or the two R 1 s together represent a 3′,4′-methylenedioxy group; when m=3, two R 1 s together represent a 3′,4′-methylenedioxy group and the other R 1 represents an alkoxy group having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms or a hydroxy group; R 9 represents a pyrrolidino, piperidino, 4-methylpiperidino or morpholino group, a N-monoalkylamino group of 4 to 6 carbon atoms, a N-monocycloalkylamino group of 4 to 7 carbon atoms, a 3′,4′-methylenedioxy-substituted benzylamino or 2-phenethylamino group or R 9 represents an alkoxy group of 1 to 6 carbon atoms; in any of its E, Z geometrically isomeric forms.