Optic Perineuritis Presenting as the Initial Manifestation of Central Nervous System Involvement in Rai Stage 0 Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Background: To describe the first case of optic perineuritis because of meningeal involvement of early stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Methods: A case report and review of the literature.

Results: A case of unilateral optic neuropathy associated with enhancement of the optic nerve sheath is described in a patient with a prior 2-year history of Rai Stage 0 CLL.

Design, synthesis and analysis of novel sphingosine kinase-1 inhibitors to improve oral bioavailability.

The sphingomyelin pathway is important in cell regulation and determining cellular fate. Inhibition of sphingosine kinase isoform 1 (SK1) within this pathway, leads to a buildup of sphingosine and ceramide, two molecules directly linked to cell apoptosis, while decreasing the intracellular concentration of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a molecule linked to cellular proliferation. Recently, an inhibitor capable of inhibiting SK1 in vitro was identified, but also shown to be ineffective in vivo.