Behcet's Syndrome

Behcet's syndrome is a disease that involves inflammation of the blood vessels. It causes problems in many parts of the body. The most common symptoms are

Sores in the mouth
Sores on the sex organs
Other skin sores
Swelling of parts of the eye
Pain, swelling and stiffness of the joints

More serious problems can include meningitis, blood clots, inflammation of the digestive system and blindness.

Doctors aren't sure what causes Behcet's. It is rare in the United States, but is common in the Middle East and Asia. It mainly affects people in their 20s and 30s. Diagnosing Behcet's can take a long time, because symptoms may come and go, and it may take months or even years to have all of the symptoms. There is no cure. Treatment focuses on reducing pain and preventing serious problems.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Behcet Syndrome on Wikipedia

'''Behçet’s syndrome''', (now known as '''Behçet’s disease'''), is a chronic condition that happens because of disturbances in the body’s immune system. This system, which normally protects the body against infections by producing controlled inflammation, becomes overactive and produces unpredictable out-breaks of unwanted and exaggerated inflammation. This extra inflammation affects blood vessels, usually the small ones. As a result symptoms occur wherever there is a patch of inflammation, and can be anywhere where there is a blood supply.

History

Behçet's syndrome is defined as a multisystemic inflammatory disease, a disease of inflamed blood vessels (vasculitis) or a vasculitic disease. It is probably first described by Hippocrates in the 5th century. The syndrome carries the name of the Turkey Dermatology Hulusi Behçet, who in 1937 described a syndrome of recurrent aphthous ulcers, genital ulcerations, and uveitis leading to blindness.

Causes

No one knows why the immune system starts to behave this way in Behcet’s disease. It is not because of any known infections, it is not hereditary, it is not to do with ethnic origin, gender, life-style, age, where someone has lived or where they have been on holiday. It is not associated with cancer, and links with tissue-types (which are under investigation) are not certain. It does not follow the usual pattern for autoimmune diseases.

Treatment

Behcet’s disease is incurable at present, however this does not mean untreatable. There are several ways in which the immune system can be suppressed to an appropriate level to reduce the extra inflammation, and this suppresses the symptoms.

Symptoms

Most of the symptoms are painful but not life threatening. They come and go in a series of attacks (flare-ups) throughout life. The disease does not burn itself out, but sometimes it can level off ... [ Read More ]

External Resources

Behcet' Syndrome Society - United Kingdom patient support group with information on the condition.

Amicale de Behcet en Belgique - Informations sur le syndrome de Behcet Ã l'attention des malades et leur famille, des mÃ©decins et des mÃ©dias.

BehÃ§et - Fiche d' information pratique sur le syndrome de Behcet, signes de la maladie, autre(s) site(s) internet, type(s) de consultations adaptÃ©es, laboratoire(s) de diagnostic, projet(s) de recherche en cours, rÃ©seaux de professionnels, association(s) de patients , mÃ©dicaments.

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