Patent ID: 8609694

Claim:
A method of reducing chronic pain symptoms in a subject in need thereof comprising administering to the subject an effective dose of a compound of formula (I), wherein u represents a methyl radical; v represents a hydrogen atom; w represents a hydrogen atom; x represents a fluorine atom; y represents a chlorine atom; z represents an atom of fluorine or chlorine; A is selected from the group consisting of: an atom of hydrogen, fluorine, or chlorine; an amino group of type II in which R 2 and R 3 , identical or different, represent hydrogen, C 1 -C 5 alkyl radical, wherein said C1-C5 alkyl radical is a straight or branched saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon moiety that contains 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a cyclopropyl group, or a trifluoromethyl group, and wherein said compound is selected from the group consisting of (3-Chloro-4-fluorophenyl)-[4-fluoro-{[(5-methyl-pyridine-2-ylmethyl)-amino]-methyl}-piperidine-1-yl)-methanone, wherein A=H, u=CH 3 , v and w=H, X=F, y=Cl, and z=F (compound Ia), (3-Chloro-4-fluorophenyl)-(4-fluoro-{[(5-methyl-6-methylamino-pyridine-2-ylmethyl)-amino]-methyl}-piperidine-1-yl)-methanone, wherein A=NHCH 3 , u=CH 3 , v and w=H, X=F, y=Cl, and z=F (compound Ib) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, and wherein the dose is administered prior to the onset of the chronic pain symptoms in the subject and wherein the reduction of chronic pain symptoms is associated with analgesia which is produced in the subject by the compound and which may persist and attenuate later pain development after the compound is no longer present in the body of the subject.