Introduction
Behcet’s disease is an inflammation of the small blood vessels, a so-called vasculitis. The disease is named after the Turkish doctor Hulus Behcet, who first described the disease in 1937. In addition to the vasculitis, the disease can also manifest itself in other organ systems. The cause has not been clearly clarified to date.
Symptoms of Behcet’s disease
Behcet’s disease is a systematic disease, which means that the disease can spread to the whole organ system. As a result, each patient may experience different symptoms with varying degrees of severity. These include: The main symptoms of Behcet’s disease include painful aphthae in the mouth, which mostly occur in the back of the mouth, aphthae or ulceration in the genital area, and inflammation of the middle layer of the eye.
Other accompanying symptoms in some patients are various skin changes. These may be acne-like pustules, hair follicle inflammation, ulcers, knotting or a tendency to skin irritation. Because Behcet’s disease progresses in relapses, there are always symptom-free intervals.
Early signs or symptoms are mainly the recurrent aphthae.
- Apthae or ulceration in the mouth
- Apthae or ulceration of the anus
- Inflammations of the eye
- Skin changes and skin irritations
- Complaints of the gastrointestinal tract
- Joint inflammation
- Involvement of the nervous system
The therapy of Behcet’s disease consists mainly of the administration of cortisone. It is administered either in tablet form or intravenously, depending, among other things, on the condition and severity of the patient’s symptoms.
Cortisone inhibits inflammation in the body. A local application of cortisone, e.g. in the form of an ointment, is also possible for externally visible inflammations such as those of the eye. In case of a very severe course of disease or relapses, an additional or alternative immunosuppressive drug can be prescribed. The immunosuppressive drug reduces the function of the immune system by limiting the growth of immune cells. A combination of both drugs is often given in cases of pathological involvement of the central nervous system.
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