Arterial and Venous Involvement in Behçet’s Disease

Abstract

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic, multisystemic, inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent attacks of mucocutaneous, ocular, musculoskeletal, vascular, central nervous system and gastrointestinal manifestations. Vascular involvement is observed in up to 40% of the patients with BD, especially in young males and is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity. Both venous and arterial disease is observed. Glucocorticoids, azathioprine and cyclophosphamide are recommended as the first-line treatments in vascular BD (VBD). But increasing data with TNF inhibitors and interferons suggest that these agents may also be acceptable options for the management of refractory cases. Anticoagulant usage is still controversial with limited data coming from retrospective studies. There is a clear need for randomized, controlled studies for the management of VBD.