Behcet's Disease in Korean

ABSTRACT

Behcet's disease is a chronic, multi systemic disorder affecting mainly young, adult males. The clinical course of Behcet's disease is characterized by exacerbation and remissons of unpredictable duration and frequency. The common underlying histopathologic lesion is a vasculitis. Loss of vision in Behcet's disease is one of the most frequent and serious of its mainfestations. It was shown as follows 1. The sex distribution was 261 males(37.5%)and 435 females(62.5%), and this disease occured more often in women than men with a ratio of 1.7 to 1. 2. The mean age of onset was 29 year old and the age of onset reached its peak in the twenties and thirties(67.0%). 3. In topographic distribution, 599 patients(86.1%) were from Seoul, Kyonggido, Inchon, and rests of patients were from Kangwondo, Kyongsangnamdo, Pusan in order. 4. In Shimizu classification, incomplete type was the most numerous with 256 patients(36.8%), and the probable, possible and complete type were observed in order. 5. In major symptoms, oral lesion showed the highest frequency with 674 patients(96.8%), skin lesion in 416 patients(59.8%), genital lesion in 390 patients(56.0%) and ocular lesion in 93 patients(13.4%). In minor symptoms, the arthritis showed the highest frequency with 168 patients(24.1%), Oral lesion appeared in 615 patients(88.4%) and ocular lesion in 22 patients(3.2%)as the initial symptom. 6. Ocular lesions appeared in 158 eyes among 93 patients who had it. The mean age of onset of ocular lesions was 32 yeat old. Cases which the symptom was limited to right eye appeated in 16 patients(172%), the left eye in 12 patients(12.9%) and bilateral in 65 patients(69.9%). It took 43 months in average from the appearance of the initial symptom to that of the ocular lesion and in 22 patients(23.7%), the ocular lesions appeared at first. In ocular lesions, iritis and hypopyon which appeared in 127 eyes(80.4%) showed the hilithest frequency and the vitreous opacity, complicated cataract, retinal degeneration, conjunctivitis, complicated glaucoma, retinal hemorrhage and chorioretinitis were observed in order. 7. The visual acuity of 47 eyes(32.7%) belowed 0.01 and 25 eyes which were treated over 24 months showed marked loss of vision, mostly. 8. In 10 among 93 patients with ocular lesion, HLA antigen was examined, HLA-B5 detected in 6 patients, HLA-Bw51 in 4 patients and HLA-DRw8 in 5 patients.