Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
  • 2 Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Int J Rheumatol, 2017;2017:2160610.
PMID: 29081805 DOI: 10.1155/2017/2160610

Abstract

Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic relapsing vasculitis that affects vessels of all types and sizes with a broad spectrum of phenotypic heterogeneity and complex immunopathogenesis. Efforts by the scientific community to resolve the unmet needs of BD and gaps in our knowledge have been hampered by considerable challenges that primarily relate to the rare nature of the disease in many parts of the world and its heterogeneity. Controversies remain in many aspects of the disease including the diagnostic criteria, immunopathogenesis and biomarker discovery, geographical variation, and therapeutic considerations. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our scientific understanding of BD, shed new insights into diagnostic and treatment strategies, and discuss residual gaps in our knowledge that will serve as the basis for current and future research.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.