A New Diagnostic Way for Behcet's Disease: Skin Prick with Self-Saliva

Mucocutaneous manifestations of Behçet's disease: Pathogenesis and management from perspectives of vasculitis

Behçet's disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disorder characterized by vasculitis affecting blood vessels of any caliber or type. It can present with a wide spectrum of vasculitic lesions, including erythema nodosum-like lesions and retinal vasculitis, and may also lead to larger vessel diseases, such as aortic aneurysm and deep vein thrombosis. The full etiology of BD remains unclear, but it is considered a polygenetic disease with multiple genetic risk factors that promote immune dysregulation and thrombophilia. Inflammation can be triggered by environmental factors, such as bacteria or viruses, and the dysregulation of innate and adaptive immune cell subsets. Neutrophils and lymphocytes are the primary players involved in BD pathogenesis, with specific innate (i.e., neutrophil-derived reactive oxygen species and neutrophil extracellular traps) and adaptive (i.e., anti-endothelial cell antibodies) processes inducing endothelial cell activation and chemotaxis of inflammatory cells, leading to coagulation and vasculitis. These inflammation-induced vasculitic or vasculopathic features are observed in most mucocutaneous BD lesions, although vasculitis per se is often pathologically evident only during a brief period of the disease process. Due to the multifactorial nature of BD-associated inflammation, broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory medications, including glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive drugs, have been the mainstay for managing BD. In addition, inhibitors of interleukin (IL)-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-17, which target innate and adaptive immune functions dysregulated in BD, have emerged as promising new therapeutics. In this review, we discuss the muco-cutaneous manifestations of BD by focusing on the underlying vasculitic components in their pathologies, as well as the current array of treatment options.

Behçet's disease with intestinal involvement: case-based review

Behçet's disease (BD) is a rare (especially in East Europe, Ukraine) systemic vasculitis of blood vessels of varying calibers throughout the body that affects various organs. The variability of the clinical features requires the involvement of doctors of different specialties in the management of such patients. The work was aimed to conduct a literature review of the intestine involvement and skin lesions in BD based on the clinical case with bloody diarrhea at the onset, and to assess the frequency of development of various clinical syndromes in intestinal BD. This is an attempt at describing a manifestation of BD with colitis and to emphasize the necessary revision of BD diagnostic criteria with special attention to early manifestations of BD with gastrointestinal tract involvement.

Behçet's Disease: An Overview of Etiopathogenesis

Behçet's disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disease with a chronic, relapsing-remitting course of unknown etiology hallmarked predominantly by mucocutaneous lesions and ocular involvement. BD shares some common features with autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases and spondyloarthropathies (MHC-I-opathies). It is related to more than one pathogenic pathway triggered by environmental factors such as infectious agents in genetically predisposed subjects. The interplay between genetic background and immune system is linked to the BD presentation. Genetic factors have been investigated extensively, and several recent genome-wide association studies have confirmed HLA-B ^* 51 to be the strongest genetic susceptibility factor. However, new non-HLA susceptibility genes have been identified. Genetic variations in the genes encoding the cytokines could affect their function and be associated with disease susceptibility. Infectious agents such as Streptococcus sanguinis or the differences in salivary or gut microbiome composition can be considered to trigger the innate-derived inflammation, which is, subsequently, sustained by adaptive immune responses. Altered trimming of microbial and/or endogenous peptides by endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1), presented by HLA-B ^* 51, may play a key role in BD pathogenesis causing an alteration in T cell balance with downregulation of Tregs and expansion of Th1 and Th17. The activity of neutrophils is increased and there is an intense neutrophil infiltration in the early stage of inflammation in organs affected by the disease. Association with HLA-B ^* 51 and increased IL-17 response seems to have an important role in neutrophil activity. In this paper, we provide an overview of the most recent advances on BD etiopathogenesis.

Clinical and Genetic Aspects of Behçet's Disease in Japan

Patients with Behçet's disease (BD) suffer from episodic ocular and mucocutaneous attacks, resulting in a reduced quality of life. The phenotype of Japanese BD has been changing over the past 20 years, and the rate of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B*51-positive complete type is decreasing while that of intestinal type is increasing. This phenotypical evolution may be related to changes in as-yet-unknown environmental factors, as the immigration influx in Japan is low. Mechanisms discovered by genome-wide association studies include ERAP1-mediated HLA class I antigen bounding pathway, autoinflammation, Th17 cells, natural killer cells, and polarized macrophages, a similar genetic architecture to Crohn's disease, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriasis. As for treatments, management guidelines have been implemented, and the development of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors is markedly improving the outcome of BD, but evidence supporting treatment for special-type BD is limited. The classification of BD into distinct clusters based on clinical manifestations and genetic factors is crucial to the development of optimized medicine.

The right place of interleukin-1 inhibitors in the treatment of Behçet's syndrome: a systematic review

Behçet's syndrome (BS) is a chronic (auto)-inflammatory disorder characterized by different clusters of symptoms, including mucocutaneous and ocular involvements. Interleukin-1 inhibitors anakinra (ANA), canakinumab (CAN), and gevokizumab (GEV) represent a promising therapeutic alternative in BS. To date, evidence on the use of ANA, CAN, and GEV is mainly based on small isolated studies or case series, and the real place of anti-IL1 agents in the treatment of BS is still unclear. We performed a systematic review of current evidence on the efficacy and safety of anti-IL1 agents in BS. The PubMed search yielded a total of 398 references, from which we retrieved 24 studies for inclusion (4 clinical trials, 6 observational studies, 14 case reports, case series or letters to the editor). Four studies evaluated the overall efficacy of IL-1 inhibitors, 15 studies focused on the specific efficacy of ANA, whereas efficacy of CAN and GEV was evaluated in 8 and 3 studies, respectively. Both ANA and CAN were associated with good control of mucocutaneous and ocular manifestations. ANA resulted effective also for osteoarticular manifestations. GEV was studied only for ocular manifestations, but gave contrasting results. Discordant evidence supports the use of ANA and CAN in pediatric setting and for first-line treatment of general BS manifestations. Most frequent side effects were local or diffuse cutaneous reactions and injection site reactions, particularly for ANA treatment. Blocking the IL-1 pathway could be an effective therapeutic strategy in particular BS involvements.

Treatment of severe generalized chronic periodontitis in a patient with Behçet's disease: A case report

Behçet’s disease is a systemic disorder of unknown etiology. It involves multiple organ systems and is characterized by recurring episodes of oral ulcers as well as ocular, genital, and skin lesions. Oral ulcers can affect tooth brushing and impair proper oral hygiene. As a result, a dental biofilm accumulates, and the condition of the teeth and periodontal tissue deteriorates. The aim of this case report is to highlight the efficacy of periodontal treatment for patients with Behçet’s disease. A 51-year-old man with Behçet’s disease presented with generalized severe periodontitis. After basic treatment of the periodontal tissues, periodontal surgery was performed at several sites with bony defects. However, the patient developed severe stomatitis in the oral mucosa and gingiva after periodontal surgery. Administration of the antimicrobial agent cefdinir had little effect on recovery; however, subsequent administration of sitafloxacin resulted in significant improvement of the stomatitis. This case demonstrates that periodontal therapy is very useful for alleviating the oral signs and symptoms of Behçet’s disease. Systemic antibiotic treatment with sitafloxacin (but not cefdinir) and mechanical debridement were effective in preventing the recurrence of aphthous ulcer outbreaks after periodontal surgery.

Behçet's disease: review with emphasis on dermatological aspects

Behçet's disease is a systemic vasculitis characterized by attacks of acute inflammation, which can affect almost every vascularized area of the body. There is a close correlation between the geographical distribution of HLA-B51 and its prevalence. In the etiopathogenesis there are indications of genetic susceptibility associated with environmental influence. Among the involved genes are those that encompass innate and adaptive immunities. Polymorphisms and epistatic interactions in several genes are described, as well as the presence of imbalance lineage between HLA-B51 and A (MICA). Herpes simplex and Streptococcus sanguinis may be important extrinsic factors. An increase of Th1 response and of IL-21 is observed. The production of IL-21 is positively related to Th17 cells and negatively to T-regs. The mucocutaneous manifestations are Behcet´s disease markers, and their earlier onset indicates a worse prognosis. Recurrent oral ulcers have varied sizes and arrangements, genital ulcers are recurrent, leaving scars, skin lesions are multivaried, and pathergy, although not so frequent, is important for the diagnosis. There are numerous attempts to validate indexes that can evaluate the disease activity and among them the Mucocutaneous Activity Index. This is a specific score that can help with therapeutic decisions and to reduce morbidity, but still lacks validation. The clinical manifestations of other organs are described as well as treatment options.

Mucosal Lesions in an Allergy Practice

The diagnosis and treatment of mucosal disease with an allergic pathogenesis are challenging. Oral allergy is often a hypersensitivity reaction with variable symptoms and physical exam findings. Clinical diagnosis requires a history of prior allergen exposure, a delay from exposure to clinical findings, and improvement following allergen removal. The past decades have seen great contributions to the field of oral allergy. The aim of this review is to provide an approach to the diagnosis and treatment of oral dermatologic disease with a focus on diseases with an investigated allergic pathogenesis.