Similarities and differences between Behçet's disease and Crohn's disease

Gastrointestinal Behçet's disease: Manifestations, diagnosis, and management

Behçet's disease (BD) is a rare, inflammatory vascular disorder with recurrent oral and genital aphthous ulcers, along with ocular and cutaneous manifestations. Gastrointestinal (GI) BD may involve any portion of the GI tract. However, it is commonly described in the terminal ileum, followed by the ileocecal region. Diagnosis is challenging given lack of pathognomonic tests; therefore, it is based on clinical criteria. Management of intestinal BD includes different classes of medications including corticosteroids, 5-aminosalicylic acid, immunomodulators, and anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha monoclonal antibody agents. In this review, we aim to focus on intestinal BD and provide details of clinical manifestations, diagnosis and therapeutic options of intestinal BD from gastroenterology viewpoint.

A Challenging Case of Oral Ulcers and Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Crohn's or Behçet's Disease

Introduction. Differentiating Crohn's disease (CD) and Behçet's disease (BD) with gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations can be clinically challenging, as current diagnostic criteria are not clear between both conditions and multiple symptoms could overlap. Case Presentation. The patient is an 8-year-old boy of Brazilian descent, who initially presented with a 1-year history of painful oral ulcers. Before presenting to the hospital, he had been treated for periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis and placed on steroids, with relapsing symptoms on attempts to wean the doses. The initial workup was largely unremarkable. Buccal biopsies showed no granulomas, and the ophthalmologic exam was normal. Infectious and rheumatological tests were negative. Prometheus IBD sgi testing showed a pattern consistent with CD; however, the patient had multiple negative endoscopies, colonoscopies, and capsule endoscopies. He developed intermittent bloody stools and severe malnutrition and did not respond to infliximab, colchicine, or methotrexate. After a large GI bleed, a 4th colonoscopy was performed, which showed large round ulcers in the terminal ileum, and no granulomas. He was started on ustekinumab with clinical improvement. One month later, he developed bilateral hip effusion and meningismus, being diagnosed with aseptic meningitis secondary to COVID-19. He improved, but in one month developed worsening symptoms, and MRV showed extensive venous sinus thrombosis. The patient was started on enoxaparin, methylprednisolone, and colchicine, with resolution of the thrombus on a 3-month follow-up. The patient's overall symptoms remained controlled with clinical and biochemical remission on monthly ustekinumab. Discussion and Conclusion. Our patient had a challenging clinical course, with nonspecific systemic and intestinal manifestations which proved difficult to differentiate between BD and CD. Given endoscopic findings and the worsening of an auto-inflammatory reaction in the central nervous system after COVID-19 in a patient with controlled GI symptoms, the most likely diagnosis is BD.

Potential gastrointestinal Behcet's disease flare after treatment with anti-interleukin 17a therapy

BACKGROUND

Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic disease characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers. The underlying disease pathway likely involves interleukin (IL)-17 A, a proinflammatory cytokine that is implicated in Behcet's uveitis. Secukinumab is an anti-IL-17 A drug that may have an emerging role in the treatment of refractory BD. This is the first known case report of gastrointestinal BD flare up after anti-IL-17 A therapy.

CASE PRESENTATION

We presented a case of BD with cutaneous and articular features being treated with secukinumab. After the third dose of loading secukinumab, the patient developed acute lower abdominal pain required hospital admission. Urgent computer tomography (CT) abdomen showed fatty stranding of caecum. Colonoscopy with caecal showed increased number of inflammatory cells in lamina propria. Secukinumab was stopped and patient was started on medium dose steroid. His abdominal symptoms resolved after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

This case report illustrates a case of gastrointestinal (GI) BD presenting as acute inflammatory colitis after the use of secukinumab. Therefore, anti-IL-17 A agents should be used cautiously in patients with GI BD, and preferably guided by a phenotype-tailored approach.

The impact of Behçet's disease on intimate relationships in women: A qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

Behçet's disease is a rare and incurable condition where the body's immune system attacks healthy tissue. Behçet's can cause blood clots and ulcerations to form in every organ and system in the body, including deep and painful genital ulceration. The psychological impact of the disease on intimacy and relationships is unexplored. This study aimed to explore how the disease impacts on female patients' intimate partner relationships.

METHODS

Participants were seven female, UK patients with Behçet's disease who were in committed relationships. In depth, semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 80 minutes were conducted via video conferencing about participants' sexual functioning and intimate relationships. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

RESULTS

Patients' sexual relationships and intimacy were impacted by issues due to lack of knowledge of symptoms (misdiagnosis of herpes), issues due to symptoms (genital manifestations, painful sex, exhaustion), difficulties communicating with medical professionals, medication, partner support, and support from fellow Behçet's patients.

DISCUSSION

Female Behçet's patients are at risk of developing psychological problems with intimacy due to symptoms, lack of knowledge of symptoms, and negative impacts of medication. Intimacy needs to be discussed in medical consultations so these issues can be addressed before a lack of intimacy negatively impacts relationships.

Immune‐mediated inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract: Beyond Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

Immune‐mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are a diverse group of complex inflammatory diseases that result from dysregulated immune pathways and can involve any system of the human body. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one such disease involving the gastrointestinal (GI) system. With high prevalence in the West and increasing incidence in newly industrialized countries, IBD poses a significant burden on health care. IMIDs of the GI system other than IBD can have similar clinical features, causing diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Although these disorders share a common pathophysiology, the defects can occur anywhere in the complex network of cytokines, inflammatory mediators, and innate and adaptive systems, leading to unregulated inflammation. Precise knowledge about them will help determine the possible targeted therapy. Thus, it is essential to distinguish these disorders from IBD. This review describes various IMIDs of the GI tract that mimic IBD.

Episodic, severe abdominal pain due to isolated jejunal Crohn's disease

Small bowel Crohn's disease can present with episodic, relapsing, and remitting symptoms and delays in the diagnosis are common. We present a case of a young woman with three years of intermittent abdominal pain and nausea with negative previous evaluations. On presentation, inflammatory markers were elevated, and repeat imaging showed jejunal inflammation, with histopathological examination showing non-caseating granulomas of the small bowel consistent with Crohn's disease. This case highlights the importance of gastroenterologist recognizing the alarm signs in a patient with unexplained symptoms and adds to the literature on the clinical presentation of a rare diagnosis of isolated jejunal Crohn's disease.

[Behçet's disease : Description and analysis of a French single-center retrospective study of 51 patients]

PURPOSE

To evaluate if the presence of uveitis in Behçet's disease (BD) is associated with a particular clinical phenotype and to analyze the prognostic impact of a missed diagnosis of BD at the time the uveitis is diagnosed.

MATERIEL AND METHODS

Ophthalmologic and systemic clinical features of 51 patients with BD were recorded retrospectively. We compared the clinical phenotype of patients with ocular manifestations with those without ocular manifestations. The patients were divided into two groups depending on the progression of their visual acuity: "decreased visual acuity" versus "stable or improved visual acuity."

RESULTS

In the group of patients with ocular involvement, there was a mean 2.3 systemic manifestations, vs. 3.2 in the group without ocular manifestations (P=0.004). When BD was diagnosed prior to the onset of uveitis, we counted fewer patients in the "decreased visual acuity" group in comparison with the patients who had no prior diagnosis of BD at the onset of the uveitis (91.3% in the "decreased visual acuity" group, P=0.04). The time before initiation of immunosuppressive treatment or a biological agent was shorter for these patients (4.4 vs. 39.3 months, P=0.007).

CONCLUSION

It appears that different phenotypes exist according to whether or not the BD patient has ocular involvement. Moreover, the visual prognosis is better if the uveitis occurs in patients who have already been diagnosed with BD, due to earlier initiation of immunosuppressive therapy.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Anal Region: Clinical Applications

Over the past years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a cornerstone in evaluating anal canal and adjacent tissues due to its safeness, the three-dimensional and comprehensive approach, and the high soft-tissue resolution. Several diseases arising in the anal canal can be assessed through MRI performance, including congenital conditions, benign pathologies, and malignancies. Good knowledge of the normal anatomy and MRI technical protocols is, therefore, mandatory for appropriate anal pathology evaluation. Radiologists and clinicians should be familiar with the different clinical scenarios and the anatomy of the structures involved. This pictorial review presents an overview of the diseases affecting the anal canal and the surrounding structures evaluated with dedicated MRI protocol.

Update on the Treatment of Behcet's Disease of the Small Bowel with Biologic Agents

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The treatment of intestinal Behcet's disease (BD) is challenging, and one-third of patients require surgery due to failure of conventional therapies. Anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and other new biologics have been actively investigated for managing intestinal BD. In this article, we review the updated experiences and up-to-date clinical data on anti-TNF-α and other biologics for the management of intestinal BD.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent prospective studies have proved the efficacy and safety of infliximab and adalimumab for treating intestinal BD. Recent studies with other biologics such as anti-interleukin (IL)-1 (anakinra and canakinumab) and anti-IL-6 (tocilizumab) have shown promising results in patients with systemic, including intestinal, BD. Both infliximab and adalimumab can be useful in managing patients with intestinal BD, especially severe or refractory cases, with a similar efficacy and safety profile. More evidence for anakinra, canakinumab, tocilizumab, anti-IL-17 (secukinumab), and anti-IL-12/23 (ustekinumab) in intestinal BD is required.

Intestinal Behçet and Crohn's disease: two sides of the same coin

Behçet's disease (BD) and Crohn's disease (CD) are chronic immune-mediated, inflammatory disorders affecting many different systems (joints, skin, eyes, gastrointestinal and biliary tracts). Both disorders have fluctuating courses and when gastrointestinal symptoms are prevalent, differential diagnosis can be difficult. BD involves the gastrointestinal tract in 10-15% of cases with localized lesions in the ileocecal region. The clinical picture is heterogeneous with various clusters of disease expression. CD is a chronic inflammatory disorder, which can affect any part of the intestinal tract, as well as extra-intestinal tissue. Factors that contribute towards the pathogenesis of both disease include the host's genetic profile, and immune system, and environmental factors such as the gut microbiota. The aim of this manuscript is to provide a narrative review of clinical features of BD and CD, highlighting the importance of differential diagnosis and therapeutic approach, especially in the presence of gastrointestinal involvement. A comprehensive search of published literature using the Pubmed ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ ) database was carried out to identify all articles published in English from 1999 to October 2016, using 4 key terms: "Behçet Disease", "Intestinal Behçet's Disease", "Crohn's Disease" and" Inflammatory Bowel Disease".

Intestinal and neurological involvement in Behcet disease: a clinical case

Background

Behcet’s disease (BD) is a chronic immune-mediated, inflammatory disorder which may affect a number of different systems (oral and genital mucosa, eyes, skin, vascular district, joints, gastrointestinal tract and nervous system). Neurological manifestations are present in 5–10%, and gastrointestinal tract involvement in 10–15% of cases. The simultaneous involvement of two systems, neurological and gastrointestinal tract, is very rare and represents the aim of our case report.

Case presentation

We describe a case of a 12-year-old girl with neurological (endocranial hypertension, papilledema, retinal vasculitis) and gastrointestinal tract (terminal ileum and cecum inflammation) involvement and with a history of recurrent oral aphthosis; therefore, according to both International Criteria for Behcet’s Disease (ICBD) and Paediatric Behcet’s Disease criteria (PEDBD) the diagnosis of BD was confirmed.

Conclusions

This case report is one of the few described in literature with simultaneous involvement of the two systems, neurological and gastrointestinal tract, in paediatric BD. The diagnosis is really difficult because there is no specific diagnostic test. We think that our clinical case should help clinicians to suspect a BD with an unusual onset.

Oral Manifestations of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Two Case Reports

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are known as chronic inflammatory disorders of the digestive tract, represented mainly by Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Among the main oral manifestations of IBD are cobblestoning of the oral mucosa, labial swellings with vertical fissures, pyostomatitis vegetans, angular cheilitis, perioral erythema, and glossitis. In this sense, understanding these nosological entities by dentists would help reach early and differential diagnosis. Thus, two case reports are presented and discussed based on theoretical references obtained by a literature review. The first case report refers to an adult patient whose IBD diagnosis was established after stomatological assessment. The second case was a patient with CD diagnosed in childhood with characteristic oral lesions.

Pathogenesis of Behçet's disease: autoinflammatory features and beyond

Behçet's disease (BD) is an inflammatory disorder of unknown aetiology characterised by recurrent attacks affecting the mucocutaneous tissues, eyes, joints, blood vessels, brain and gastrointestinal tract. It is a multifactorial disease classified as a variable vessel vasculitis, and several environmental triggers may induce inflammatory episodes in genetically susceptible individuals. BD has several autoinflammatory features including recurrent self-limited clinical manifestations overlapping with monogenic autoinflammatory disorders, significant host predisposition and abnormally increased inflammatory response, with a robust innate component. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B*51 is the strongest susceptibility factor described so far affecting the disease risk and typical phenotype. Non-HLA genetic associations such as endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1), interleukin 23 receptor (IL23R) and IL10 variations suggest that BD shares susceptibility genes and inflammatory pathways with spondyloarthritis. Although genomewide association studies revealed an increased risk associated with recessively inherited ERAP1 variations in HLA-B*51 positive patients, it is not clear yet whether certain peptide-HLA allele combinations result in an adaptive response by a self-antigen-directed cytotoxic response or an innate response by modulating an NK cell activity or causing an unfolded protein response. Understanding of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class I-driven inflammatory response is expected to provide insights for the development of better treatment and remission-induction options in BD as well as in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriasis.

Gastrointestinal Behçet's disease: A review

Behçet’s disease (BD) is an idiopathic, chronic, relapsing, multi-systemic vasculitis characterized by recurrent oral and genital aphthous ulcers, ocular disease and skin lesions. Prevalence of BD is highest in countries along the ancient silk road from the Mediterranean basin to East Asia. By comparison, the prevalence in North American and Northern European countries is low. Gastrointestinal manifestations of Behçet’s disease are of particular importance as they are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Although ileocecal involvement is most commonly described, BD may involve any segment of the intestinal tract as well as the various organs within the gastrointestinal system. Diagnosis is based on clinical criteria - there are no pathognomonic laboratory tests. Methods for monitoring disease activity on therapy are available but imperfect. Evidence-based treatment strategies are lacking. Different classes of medications have been successfully used for the treatment of intestinal BD which include 5-aminosalicylic acid, corticosteroids, immunomodulators, and anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha monoclonal antibody therapy. Like inflammatory bowel disease, surgery is reserved for those who are resistant to medical therapy. A subset of patients have a poor disease course. Accurate methods to detect these patients and the optimal strategy for their treatment are not known at this time.