Past and Present Behçet's Disease Animal Models

Behçet's disease (BD) is presumably an autoinflammatory disease of unknown etiology for which several animal models have been described over the years. Agents and methods used for the development of these models have ranged from the herpes simplex type one virus (hsv-1) pathogen to the use of transgenic mice. Other models have also been used to investigate a possible autoimmune component. Each model possesses its own unique set of benefits and shortcomings, with no one model fully being able to recapitulate the disease phenotype. Here, we review the proposed models and provide commentary on their effectiveness and usefulness in studying the disease.

Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio in Behçet's disease: which and when to use?

Behçet's disease (BD) is an uncommon autoimmune/autoinflammatory disease. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were investigated in many diseases as a marker of inflammation. In this study, we investigated NLR and PLR in patients with BD as a marker of disease activity and its association with different clinical manifestations. The study included 23 BD patients; their mean age was (32.5 ± 6.76) and M:F ratio was 16:7. Complete blood picture was done for all patients. NLR and PLR were compared in both active and inactive BD patients and its relation with different clinical manifestations was assessed. NLR was higher in active BD patients than in inactive BD patients (P < 0.01). Although both NLR and PLR were correlated with Behçet's Disease Current Activity Form (BDCAF), the correlation of NLR with BDCAF was much stronger than that of PLR. NLR was associated with some mucocutaneous lesions. Both NLR and PLR were associated with articular and GIT manifestations, but also NLR showed more significant results. In our studied patients, both NLR and PLR were not informative about any ongoing ocular activity (P > 0.05). Both ratios were not affected by the presence of neurologic deficits nor previous vascular events (P > 0.05). NLR was superior to PLR as an indicator of disease activity. NLR was closely related to skin manifestations while PLR was not. In our study, both were not considered reliable in representing ocular activity.

Quality of life impairment in Behçet's disease and relationship with disease activity: a prospective study

Our aim was to prospectively investigate the impact of Behçet's disease (BD), disease activity, and clinical and demographic characteristics on different aspects of quality of life (QoL) measured by the short-form (SF)-36 QoL scale. We administered the SF-36 to 37 consecutive BD patients in different moments of disease activity, and to 23 healthy controls (HC). The eight subcategories of the SF-36 underwent statistical analysis for identifying differences and correlations. Compared to HC, BD patients showed significantly lower mean scores in all SF-36 QoL subscales except mental health and role-emotional. Females showed a poorer QoL compared to males. Disease activity evaluated by the BD Current Activity Form inversely correlated with physical functioning (ρ = -0.68, p < 0.0001), bodily pain (ρ = -0.68, p < 0.0001), role-physical (ρ = -0.64, p < 0.0001), vitality (ρ = -0.64, p < 0.0001), general health (ρ = -0.64, p < 0.0001), social functioning (ρ = -0.50, p = 0.0002), mental health (ρ = -0.48, p = 0.0004), and role-emotional (ρ = -0.40, p = 0.003). Mucosal, central nervous system (CNS), musculoskeletal and ocular manifestations were the main factors that negatively affected QoL in BD. For ocular disease, physical functioning was significantly impaired in patients with panuveitis compared to other ocular manifestations (p = 0.0002). Best-corrected visual acuity was inversely correlated with social functioning (ρ = -0.53, p < 0.0001), role-physical (ρ = -0.48, p < 0.0001), bodily pain (ρ = -0.46, p = 0.02), and mental health (ρ = -0.43, p < 0.0001). Patients with BD have a poorer QoL compared to HC, particularly for women, while the decline of QoL is closely related to the overall disease activity of BD. Single organ involvements may affect independently specific SF-36 subscales, especially mucosal, CNS, musculoskeletal, and ocular manifestations.

Refractory pulmonary artery aneurysm in Behçet's disease

Pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA) is a life-threatening complication of Behçet's disease (BD). Massive hemoptysis secondary to PAAs requires emergent endovascular treatments or surgeries. No endovascular occlusion for pulmonary artery trunk has been reported and no therapeutic algorithm exists for the rare disease. We present an endovascular occlusion and a salvage pneumonectomy for a refractory right main PAA in BD, and provide a proposal of a therapeutic algorithm.