The Clinical Features of Behcet's Disease in Yongdong Districts: Analysis of a Cohort Followed from 1997 to 2001

Abstract

in Yongdong districts in Korea, and to compare the results with the literature. Overall features of clinical manifestations were similar to those described in the literature. However, the frequency of gastrointestinal (GI) ulcerations was much higher than those of other Korean studies. The Korean studies including ours revealed a lower frequency of vascular lesions and epididymitis compared with studies of other countries. The most common site and pattern of inflammatory arthritis were knees and monoarticular involvement, respectively. In addition, in most patients, the ocular lesions involved the posterior uveal tract, and the terminal ileum and cecum were the most common sites of GI involvement. Patients with ocular lesions or GI lesions showed a good prognosis during the follow-up. The HLA-B51 antigen was positive in 50.7% of patients, and it was more commonly found in patients with a familial BD.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein–1 −2518 A/G single nucleotide polymorphism in Chinese Han patients with ocular Behçet's disease

“…Whereas the disease is rare in the Western countries [3,29], it occurs with high prevalence in the countries of the ancient Silk Road [30,31], which extends from eastern Asia to the Mediterranean basin [32][33][34]. Epidemiologic investigations have shown that BD has a striking geographic and ethnic distribution, with a particularly high prevalence observed in individuals from Turkish, Japa- nese, or Chinese descent [3,4] and mounting evidence suggests that genetic predisposition might play a crucial role in the development of BD.…”

Identification of genetic susceptibility loci for intestinal Behçet’s disease

“…Intestinal BD can result in severe complications, including bowel perforation and extensive hemorrhage, and is therefore one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with BD8. Intestinal involvement is rare in Mediterranean BD patients (0 to 3%)9, whereas it is relatively more prevalent in East Asia, including Korea and Japan (5–25%)10. Given these geographic and racial differences in the incidence of BD with or without intestinal involvement, intestinal BD is likely to be associated with pathogenic pathways that are distinct from those contributed to BD without intestinal involvement.…”

Update on the Molecular Genetic Studies of Behcets Disease

“…In addition, the familial aggregation of BD also suggests the strong likelihood of the involvement of genetic factors in developing the disease. A wide range of the BD frequency within families is reported from 2 to 5% in North European countries to 8-15% in endemic areas, such as Middle Eastern countries and Korea [4,8,17]. Moreover, a positive familial history is noted to be more common in pediatric patients than in adult patients (12.3% vs. 2.2%) [18].…”