Possible involvement of the endocannabinoid system in the actions of three clinically used drugs

There is considerable interest in developing new therapies that are based on compounds that modulate the endocannabinoid system to treat several disease states (e.g. pain, neurodegeneration and cancer). However, recent evidence from studies in experimental animals has suggested that three clinically used drugs, the anaesthetic agent propofol and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs indomethacin and flurbiprofen (when given spinally), activate cannabinoid receptors as an important part of their actions. In this article, the findings of these studies are summarized and possible spectra of actions of these drugs are discussed.