To discuss a case study that suggests advantages for the combination of 5HT transporter inhibition plus 5HT1A receptor agonism over transporter inhibition alone.

Naturalistic clinical case study.

The patient had a documented 10 year history of poor response to SSRI's including s-citalopram. There was no suggestion of placebo response in the past. He responded well to Lu AA21004 and sustained this remission over a period of 9 months. He relapsed after Lu AA21004 was ceased. He recovered and again achieved a sustained remission after being prescribed a combination of s-citalopram plus pindolol.

The addition of pindolol (a 5HT1A receptor partial agonist) to s-citalopram adds 5HT1A receptor agonism to the 5HT transporter inhibition of s-citalopram. This is a similar profile to Lu AA21004. It is noted that Lu AA21004 also has 5HT3 receptor antagonism which is postulated to impact more on side effect profile than antidepressant efficacy. The current case strongly suggests that (in some instances at least) the addition of 5HT1A agonism to 5HT transporter inhibition might convert non-responders to responders and thus offer clinical advantage over transporter inhibition alone.