Behcet's Disease

            Behcet’s disease is common the Middle East, Asia, and Japan but is rare in the United Sates.  This disease affects more man than is does woman in Middle Easter and Asian countries, but in the United States, it affects more women than men.  This disease tends to develop in people in the 20’s or 30’s, but people of all ages can develop this disease.  Behcet’s disease is an autoimmune disease that results from damage to blood vessels through the body, particularly veins, the immune system attacks and harms the bodies’ own tissues. 

The exact cause of Behcet’s disease is unknown; most symptoms of the disease are caused by vasculitis, which is an inflammation of the blood vessels.  Inflammation is a characteristic reaction of the body to injury or disease and is marked by four signs: swelling, redness, heat, and pain.  This disease affects each person differently, the four most common symptoms are mouth sores, inflammation inside of the eye, genital sores, and skin problems.  Other symptoms may include arthritis, blood clots, and inflammation in the central nervous system and digestive organs.

Behcet’s disease has the ability to involve blood vessels of nearly all types and sizes, ranging from small arteries to large ones, and involving veins as well as arteries.  The disease does seem to target certain organs and tissues; described below:

Eye: Behcet’s may cause either anterior inflammation in the front of the eye or posterior and sometimes may cause both at the same time.  Anterior uveitis results in pain, blurry vision, light sensitivity, tearing, or redness of the eye.  Posterior uveitis may be more dangerous and vision is threatened because if often causes fewer symtpoms while damaging a crucial part of the eye—the retina.

Mouth: Painful sores in the mouth affect almost all patients with Behcet’s disease.  The sores are called aphthous ulcers, these individual sores or ulcers are usually identical to canker sores and are usually a minor trauma.  They are often the first symptom that a person notices and may occur long before any other symptom occurs, but the lesions are more numerous, more frequent, and often larger and more painful than any common canker sore.  The sores usually have a red border and several may appear at the same time, they make eating very difficult and do not go away for 10 to 14 days. 

Skin: Skin problems are a common symptom of Behcet’s disease; the skin sores often look red or resemble pus-filled bumps or a bruise.  The sores are red and raised, and typically appear on the legs and on the upper torso.  When doctors suspect that a person has Behcet’s disease, they perform a pathergy test, in which they prick they skin with a small needle; 1 to 2 days after the test, people with Behcet’s may develop a red bump where the doctor pricked the skin.  Skin disorders are less common in patients from the United States, but if this occurs, Behcet’s disease is likely.  Skin lesions are called erythema nodosum; it is red, tender nodules that usually occur on the legs and ankles but also appear sometimes on the face, neck, or arms.

Joints: Arthritis, which is inflammation of the joints, occurs in more than half of all patients with this disease.  Arthristis causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints, especially in the knees, wrists, elbows, and ankles. The pain usually from Behcet’s lasts a few weeks and does not cause permanent damage to the joints.

Brain: Behcet’s disease affects the central nervous system in about 23 percent of all patients with disease in the United States.  The central nervous system includes the brain and spinal cored and it’s function is to process information and coordinate thinking, sensation, movement, and behavior.  Behcet’s disease can cause inflammation of the brain and the thin membrane that covers and protects the brain and spinal cord.