The sphingolipid ceramide has been discusssed for some time as a possible secondary messenger for a number of physiological and pathalogical processes, including autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis. Ceramide can be activated through the action of acid or neutral sphingomyelinases. The spiroepoxide 1 is the first selective irreversible inhibitor of neutral sphingomyelinase and will, therefore, be useful in the elucidation of the biological function of ceramide.
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Arenz et al. (2000) studied this question.