S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM, also known as AdoMet) radical enzymes use SAM and a [4Fe-4S] cluster to catalyze a diverse array of reactions. They adopt a partial triose-phosphate isomerase (TIM) barrel fold with N- and C-terminal extensions that tailor the structure of the enzyme to its specific function. One extension, termed a SPASM domain, binds two auxiliary [4Fe-4S] clusters and is present wi...

Multivessel coronary spasm resulting to cardiogenic shock and malignant ventricular arrhythmias though rare has been reported in the literature. The disease seems to be more prevalent in Asians. There have been isolated reports of coronary spasm in patients with reactive airway disease. We report the first case of spontaneous multivessel spasm in a male patient with bronchial asthma of Arab eth...

The spontaneous occurrence of diffuse three vessel coronary artery spasm was documented during routine coronary angiography in three patients with a history of variant angina. Quantitative angiographic analysis of 18 arterial segments demonstrated that the mean luminal diameter of 1.47 mm during spasm increased to 2.47 mm after the administration of nitroglycerin (p less than 0.0001). The under...

A model for producing chronic cerebral vasospasm in monkeys by injecting autologous blood into the basal cistern is described. Spasm/narrowing was observed by angiography one hour after SAH in 8 out of 10 monkeys and in 5 of these 8, spasm was observed both one and two weeks later. No narrowing of the vessels was observed in the control cases. In monkeys that showed spasm one week after SAH, na...

Background Infantile spasm is a rare condition in infants from 4 to 7 months old. Treatment varies in different cases. Corticosteroids and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) are the most widely used treatment options; however, there are debates on their efficacy. The aim of our study is to compare corticosteroid treatment with ACTH in patients with infantile spasm. Materials and Me...

Hemifacial spasm is defined as unilateral, involuntary, irregular twitching of all or parts of the muscles innervated by facial nerves. Here, we present a case of recurrent hemifacial spasm after microvascular decompression (MVD) treated with pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment with good results. A 35-year-old woman suffered from recurrent hemifacial spasm after MVD that was refractory to med...

pycnocycla spinosa decne. ex boiss. var. spinosa (fam. umbelliferae) is an essential oil-containing wild plant growing in central part of iran. hydroalcoholic extract of pycnocycla spinosa has antispasmodic and antidiarrheal activity. the aim of this study was to further investigate antidiarrheal and small intestinal transit effect of p. spinosa extract for a comparison with loperamide and dicy...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS  Topical peppermint oil prevents intestinal spasm, but can cause rebound spasm. Lidocaine hydrochloride, a local anesthetic, may work as an antispasmodic by blocking Na + channels. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of topical lidocaine on the inhibition of colonic spasm during colonoscopy, compared with peppermint oil. PATIENTS AND METHODS  A random...