Behçet's syndrome

Abstract

It may be asked why rheumatologists have interested themselves in Behçet's syndrome (BS). The obvious answer must be that BS is a vasculitis and a common feature with which it may present is an inflammatory arthritis. Most papers on BS start with a statement that it is a multi-system inflammatory disease of uncertain aetiology, now classified as a vasculitis. It has been shown to be uncommon in western Europe and the USA, while being much more prevalent in the eastern Mediterranean countries, South East Asia and Japan in particular. Young onset (before the age of 25 yr) and males have been shown to have more severe disease [1, 2]. Although the commonest age of development is in the third decade of life, children may be affected with apparently identical features [3].