Azathioprine in Behcet's syndrome: effects on long-term prognosis.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of azathioprine (AZA) treatment on long-term prognosis in Behçet's syndrome.


METHODS
Patients (all male) who took part in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of AZA a mean +/- SD of 94 +/- 10 months previously were reevaluated.


RESULTS
The emergence of blindness (log rank chi2 = 5.6, P = 0.02) and a 2-line drop in the visual acuity of the right eye (log rank chi2 = 5.9, P = 0.015) occurred significantly more frequently among the patients originally allocated to the placebo group compared with patients who originally received AZA, despite posttrial treatment for patients in both groups when needed. There was also a trend toward more frequent occurrence of extraocular complications in the placebo group. The beneficial effect of AZA was especially pronounced among patients who had eye involvement of short duration prior to their entry into the trial.


CONCLUSIONS
Early treatment with AZA tends to favorably affect the long-term prognosis of Behçet's syndrome.
Hamuryudan
V
V
University of Istanbul, Turkey.
Ozyazgan
Y
Y
Hizli
N
N
Mat
C
C
Yurdakul
S
S
Tüzün
Y
Y
Senocak
M
M
Yazici
H
H
D000328:Adult; D001379:Azathioprine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D001766:Blindness / Q000517:prevention & control; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D001379:Azathioprine