Behçet's disease with severe destructive arthritis

Abstract

Behçet's disease is a systemic disease characterized by oral aphta, genital ulcers, and ocular lesions, and arthritic manifestations also appear to be common. However, this disease rarely produces loss of function or deformity in arthritic joints. We report the case of a 52-year-old woman with Behçet's disease who had a history of recurrent oral aphta, genital ulcerations, and intestinal lesions for almost 30 years. When she was about 30 years old, she began to notice significant morning stiffness and polyarthritis, and progressive destructive arthritic changes in the bilateral fingers, wrists, and left ankle. Behçet's disease with severe destructive arthritic changes is rare, and the underlying mechanism is still unknown.

A case of possible Behçet's disease, preceded by recurrent knee arthropathy for 5 years, effectively treated with oral colchicine

“…The patient had no history of alcohol abuse. Meanwhile, several cases of BD with severe destructive arthropathy have been reported, 12,13 although the arthropathy in BD has been regarded as usually not destructive. Although identification of the cause of the osteonecrosis in this case was difficult, it might be most plausible that the osteonecrosis in this case was relevant to possible BD for the abovementioned reasons.…”