Chlorambucil versus corticosteroids for management of Behcet's disease

ABSTRACT

A controlled study to compare the effect of me immunosuppressive drug, chlorambucil, with that of corticosteroids was carried out in 26 patients with the ocular type of Behcet's disease. Twenty patients were males and 6 were females. They were regularly followed up for 4 years in some cases. Chlorambucil was found effective in reducing the inflammation and producing long duration of remission in 85% of cases. On the other hand, steroids alone were found initially effective in about 54%. However, the long-term prognosis for vision with either therapy was nearly similar and remains very poor. Loss of useful vision has occurred in 78.6% of the eyes within 3 to 4 years after initial diagnosis