Of the 721 documented patients in the German Registry for Adamantiades-Behçet disease (registered charity), 258 were of German and 308 of Turkish descent, along with 30 other countries of origin. The prevalence in Germany is 0.9:100,000. Manifestation of the disease was predominantly in the third decade of life (median age: 26.5 years) and in 10.7% the disease onset was under 16 years of age. The full clinical picture developed on average in 2.9 years (median 3 months). Patients of Turkish descent showed androtopism in contrast to those of German descent (female:male  1.9:1), which was also detected in the whole collective in a ratio of 1.4:1. In 12.4% there was a family history with differences between German and Turkish patients (3.8% versus 14.6%) as well as in patients with disease onset in young and adult age (25.0% versus 7.3%). Most frequent features included oral aphthae (98.5%), cutaneous lesions (81%), genital ulcers (64.7%), ocular manifestations (51.6%), arthritis (52.4%) and positive pathergy test (30.8%). Turkish patients suffered significantly more often from eye manifestations compared with Germans, while in German patients prostatitis/epididymitis and gastrointestinal involvement were more frequently documented. As serious complications arose blindness 6.8%, meningoencephalitis 4.0%, severe arthritis 2.6%, fatal outcome 1.2%, hemoptysis 1.1% and gastrointestinal perforation 0.5%. The HLA-B5 antigen was positive in 58.1% and showed an association with eye manifestations. The relative risk of HLA-B5 positive individuals is high in both Germans (6.57) and Turks (5.81).

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Antimony-trioxide-and arsenic-trioxide-induced apoptosis in myelogenic and lymphatic cell lines, recruitment of caspases, and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential are enhanced by modulators of the cellular glutathione redox system. Annals of Hematology, Springer Verlag, 2009, 88 (11) (BSO). Other modulators of the cellular redox system showed this effect to a lower extent and enhancement was not consistent for the different cell lines tested. Caspase inhibitors protected cell lines from Sb 2 O 3 -and As 2 O 3 -induced apoptosis. When BSO was added, the inhibitors lost their protective ability. The ability of modulators of the cellular redox system in clinically applicable concentrations to enhance the apoptotic effects of the two oxides in a synergistic way may be helpful to reduce their toxicity by optimizing their dose.

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