Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory condition involving several organs, such as skin, mucous membrane, eye, joint, intestine, lung and central nervous system. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a prototype of seronegative spondyloarthropathy, and a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder of the axial skeleton, mainly affecting the sacroiliac joint and spine. In the latter, systemic complications may develop in addition to joint involvement. The coexistence of BD and AS has been rarely reported in the literature. The inclusion of BD among seronegative spondyloarthritides and whether sacroiliitis (SI) develops in BD are still being debated. We describe a 28-year-old man who has fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for BD and AS as well.
Adult ; Angiography ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/administration +ACY- dosage ; Behcet's Syndrome/drug therapy ; Behcet's Syndrome/diagnosis+ACo- ; Behcet's Syndrome/complications+ACo- ; Case Report ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Human ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing/drug therapy ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing/diagnosis+ACo- ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing/complications+ACo- ; Treatment Outcome

Approximately 50 % of patients with scleritis are known to be associated with systemic connective tissue diseases or vasculitic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Wegener's granulomatosis, relapsing polychondritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. The patients with scleritis in association with Behcet's disease (BD) have been rarely described in the literature. We report a 46-year-old female patient with BD who developed the nodular scleritis.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use ; Behcet's Syndrome/drug therapy ; Behcet's Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Behcet's Syndrome/complications* ; Case Report ; Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Human ; Middle Age ; Prednisolone/therapeutic use ; Scleritis/drug therapy ; Scleritis/diagnosis* ; Scleritis/complications*

Behcet's disease is a chronic multisystemic disorder involving many organs and characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers and relapsing iritis. A case of BD with large vein thrombosis involving superior and inferior vena cava is presented. Large vein thrombosis in BD is not commonly developed and most commonly observed in the inferior or superior vena cava. A review of the literature emphasizes the rarity of the combined superior and inferior vena caval occlusion. Existence of extensive large vein occlusion in BD is associated with limited therapy and poor prognosis.
Adult ; Behcet's Syndrome/diagnosis ; Behcet's Syndrome/complications* ; Disease Progression ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Fibrinolytic Agents/therapeutic use ; Human ; Phlebography ; Thrombosis/etiology* ; Thrombosis/drug therapy ; Thrombosis/diagnosis ; Vena Cava, Inferior/radiography* ; Vena Cava, Superior/radiography* ; Substances: Fibrinolytic Agents

No abstract available.
Behcet Syndrome/*complications/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Hemianopsia/diagnosis/*etiology/physiopathology ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents/administration & dosage ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulse Therapy, Drug ; Steroids/administration & dosage ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Field Tests ; Visual Fields

Behcet's disease (BD) involves multisystem vasculitis of unknown origin. Ocular manifestations of BD mostly include bilateral panuveitis and retinal vasculitis, which are very challenging to treat. Interferon alfa-2a (IFN) has been recently introduced for treating refractory Behcet uveitis, mainly in Germany and Turkey. Nonetheless, there is so far no consensus about the ideal treatment regimen of IFN for Behcet uveitis. We report our experience of IFN treatment in five Korean BD patients with refractory uveitis. All patients complained of oral ulcers; one patient had a positive pathergy test and 2 showed the presence of HLA-B51. Immunosuppressive agents used prior to IFN treatment included cyclosporine and methotrexate. The IFN treatment was commenced with a dose of 6-9 MIU/day for 7 days, adjusted according to individual ocular manifestations, tapered down to 3 MIU three times in a week, and then discontinued. All patients showed positive response to IFN treatment; 50% of them showed complete response without additional major ocular inflammation during the follow-up period. Other BD symptoms also improved after IFN treatment in most cases. After treatment, the relapse rate and the required dose of oral corticosteroid were decreased in most cases, showing a significant steroid-sparing effect. However, the visual acuity was not improved in most cases due to irreversible macular sequelae. Despite the small sample size of this study, we suggest that, in Korean patients, IFN is an effective treatment modality for BD uveitis as was observed in German and Turkish patients.
Adult ; Behcet Syndrome/complications/diagnosis/*drug therapy ; Chronic Disease ; Cyclosporine/therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents/administration & dosage ; Interferon-alpha/*therapeutic use ; Male ; Recombinant Proteins/therapeutic use ; Recurrence ; Remission Induction ; Treatment Outcome ; Turkey ; Uveitis/diagnosis/*drug therapy/etiology ; Visual Acuity

No abstract available.
Aneurysm, Dissecting/diagnosis/*etiology/physiopathology/therapy ; Anticoagulants/therapeutic use ; Aortic Aneurysm/diagnosis/*etiology/physiopathology/therapy ; Behcet Syndrome/*complications/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Cerebral Infarction/diagnosis/etiology ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Color ; Electrocardiography ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Sinus of Valsalva/physiopathology/ultrasonography ; Thrombosis/diagnosis/drug therapy/*etiology/physiopathology ; Ventricular Septal Rupture/diagnosis/*etiology/physiopathology/therapy

INTRODUCTIONThough oral aphthosis is common, it has a significant impact on the quality of life in the patients. It is the most common oral ulcerative condition encountered in clinical practice. This study describes the characteristics and patterns of oral aphthosis seen at a tertiary dermatological centre in Singapore, with emphasis in evaluating the management gaps and in identifying underlying systemic diseases and nutritional deficiencies.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThis is a retrospective review of medical records over a 10-year period between June 2000 and June 2010. Two hundred and thirteen patients were identified using the search terms 'oral ulcers', 'aphthous ulcers', 'oral aphthosis', and 'Behcet's disease'. Patients with Behcet's disease without oral ulcers and other diagnoses such as pemphigus vulgaris, lichen planus and herpes simplex were excluded. The remaining patients were evaluated with regard to demographic characteristics, characteristics of oral ulcers, associated connective tissue disorders and nutritional deficiencies, diagnostic tests results, treatment response as well as follow-up duration.

RESULTSOne hundred and seventy-fi ve patients were included in this study. One hundred and one patients had recurrent oral aphthosis, with 77 having simple aphthosis and 24 having complex aphthosis. Fourteen patients (8%) fulfilled the International Study Criteria (ISG) for Behcet's disease, of which, 85.71% had complex aphthosis. The therapeutic ladder for such patients ranged from topical steroids and colchicine through to oral corticosteroids and/or dapsone therapy.

CONCLUSIONRecurrent oral aphthosis is a niche condition in which dermatologists are well-poised to manage. This study demonstrates that a more definitive management and therapeutic algorithm for oral aphthosis are needed for better management patients in the future. In particular, complex aphthosis needs to be monitored for progression onto Behcet's disease.

Adolescent ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Infective Agents ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; therapeutic use ; Behcet Syndrome ; complications ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Colchicine ; therapeutic use ; Dapsone ; therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomatitis, Aphthous ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Treatment Outcome ; Tubulin Modulators ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult