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An Overview of Conventional and Recent Treatment Options for Behcet’s Disease

  • Vasculitis (L Barra, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of review

Behcet’s disease (BD) is a multi-system inflammatory disorder characterized by a relapsing–remitting course. Several treatment modalities with different mechanisms of action have been evaluated for the treatment of BD. In this review, our goal is to review updated therapeutic options for BD in the light of recently published The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations.

Recent findings

Behcet’s disease can be difficult to treat with conventional treatment requiring escalation of therapy. In recent years, treatment of BD has become more effective since the understanding of the pathogenesis led to the use of a wide spectrum of therapeutic agents. Data in biologics have substantially increased in BD with different organ involvements in the last decades and providing promising results, although randomized controlled trials are lacking.

Summary

Behcet’s disease can affect multi-organ system therefore treatment should be determined based on the clinical presentation and organ involvement. Since there is a lack of randomized controlled trials, treatment options are usually based on expert consensus, case reports/series, and retrospective/prospective studies. As the development of biologic agents continues, it seems likely that understanding of their efficacy and safety will improve which may lead to a change in the management strategy and clinical outcomes of BD.

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Acknowledgments

MR is the recipient of ARG-ITALIA Onlus (http://www.argitalia.it/) bursary for international research fellowship.

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  1. Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Department of Paediatrics, Division of Paediatric Rheumatology, University of Western Ontario, 800 Commissioners Rd E. B1-146, London, ON, N6A 5W9, Canada

    Kader Cetin Gedik MD, Micol Romano MD, Roberta A. Berard MD, MSc FRCPC & Erkan Demirkaya MD, MSc FRCPC

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  2. Micol Romano MD
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Correspondence to Erkan Demirkaya MD, MSc FRCPC.

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Cetin Gedik, K., Romano, M., Berard, R.A. et al. An Overview of Conventional and Recent Treatment Options for Behcet’s Disease. Curr Treat Options in Rheum 6, 99–127 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40674-020-00143-0

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