The extended-release serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) venlafaxine XR is effective in the treatment of social anxiety disorder, according to an analysis of results from two studies presented at the XII World Congress of Psychiatry (WCP) [Yokohama, Japan; August 2002]. Venlafaxine also demonstrated efficacy in the long-term treatment of generalised anxiety disorder in another analysis presented at the meeting.