October 2008 research studies

Each listing links to a summary (abstract) of the article. If the whole article is available online for free, I'll provide a link to it. Otherwise you can either buy the article online, or get enough information to find it for free at a medical library...or you could bring the reference to your doctor, who should be able to get a copy for you.

When reading articles, abstracts or newspaper reports about Behcet's, please remember that every case of BD is different. Don't jump to conclusions based on what you read -- speak with your doctor for more information!


Grand Rounds: “Behcet’s Disease: What It Is, and Isn’t”
[Available online in full, for free]
A presentation at NYU by Dr. Yusuf Yazici, Director of the Behcet's Syndrome Center, NYC.
October 16, 2008

Behçets disease: Recent advances in early diagnosis and effective treatment
[Free preview of first page.]

Kenneth T. Calamia, Phaedon G. Kaklamanis

Mayo Clinic Jacksonville 4500 San Pablo Road Jacksonville FL 32224 USA
Current Rheumatology Reports, Vol. 10, No. 5, October 2008; 349-355.
This review examines important recent contributions to help the clinician more readily recognize patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) and institute appropriate care.

Clinical and demographical evaluation in pediatric behçet's disease among different age groups (in Turkey)
Gulten Karatas Sungur, Dicle Hazirolan, Ilgaz Yalvac, Pinar Altiaylik Ozer, Dilek Yuksel, Ece Turan Vural, and Sunay Duman Br. J. Ophthalmol., Oct 2008; 10.1136/bjo.2007.137141. Patient age appeared to determine the type of ocular involvement in pediatric BD. Anterior uveitis was more frequent in children under 10; children over 10 tended to have panuveitis [anterior and posterior uveitis at the same time].

Behçet's disease: comparing 3 decades of treatment response at the National Eye Institute. [Available online in full, for free]
Kump LI, Moeller KL et. al.
Can J Ophthalmol. 2008 Aug;43(4):468-72.
There was a definitive trend toward improvement in clinical outcome from the 1960s to 1990s, [due] to the introduction of newer, more potent corticosteroid-sparing agents and targeted therapy.

Budd-Chiari syndrome associated with Behçet's disease.
[Available online in full, for free]
Ghorbel IB, Ennaifer R, et al., La Rabta Hospital, 1007 Jabbari Tunis, Tunisia
Gastroenterol Clin Biol. 2008 Mar;32(3):316-20. Epub 2008 Apr 9.

Visual evoked potentials in differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and neurobehcet's disease. [Available online in full, for free]
Turker H, Terzi M, et al.
Tohoku J Exp Med. 2008 Oct;216(2):109-16.
P100 amplitude measured from peak to peak seems to be more reliable, and should be used in the differential diagnosis of MS and NB.

Carotid artery intima-media thickness in Behcet's disease patients without significant cardiovascular involvement. [Available online in full, for free]
Hon SN, Park JC, et al.
Korean J Intern Med. 2008 Jun;23(2):87-93.
Even though there there was no significant cardiovascular involvement in these BD patients, the carotid IMT was significantly higher in the BD patients as compared with the healthy controls.