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Interferon therapy for Behçet's disease
E Alpsoy1, E Yilmaz, E Başaran
1Department of Dermatology, Akdeniz University Medical Faculty, Antalya, Turkey.
Background:
Behçet's disease was first described in 1937 as a trisymptom complex. No standard therapy has been established. Its cause is presumed to be viral or immunologic.
Objective:
We sought to determine whether patients with Behçet's disease benefit from interferon, which has antiviral, immunomodulatory, antiproliferative, and antitumoral properties.
Methods:
Fourteen patients were initially given 3 MU interferon alfa-2a subcutaneously three times per week. The doses were gradually increased to 12 MU. Each patient received a total dose of 216 MU during the 2-month study. Therapy with 9 MU interferon alfa-2a once a month was continued in half the patients. All patients were observed before and after treatment for 6-month periods, and all symptoms were recorded.
Results:
All patients were symptom free by the end of the 2-month treatment period. The frequencies of oral and genital ulcers as well as pustular vasculitis decreased significantly in the posttreatment period as compared with the pretreatment period.
Conclusion:
The data suggest that interferon treatment appears to be effective for patients with Behçet's disease.