title: Behçet's disease: general concepts and recent advances.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To summarize general concepts of Behçet's disease, as well as present recent scientific developments in delineating the pathogenesis and treatment of this disorder.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Large, long-term follow-up studies on patients with Behçet's disease have shown improved visual outcomes in recent years when compared with decades ago, presumably due to the more aggressive use of immunosuppressive agents. Increased T-helper cell type 1 activity and increased hypercoagulability continue to be a focus of research into the pathogenesis of the disease. Advanced oxidation protein products and a Behçet's disease activity index may be useful tools for following disease activity. Finally, studies of new treatment modalities, particularly infliximab, interferon-alpha and granulocytapheresis, have reported encouraging results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Historically a scourge among uveitic disorders, there is new hope for improved long-term visual outcomes in patients with Behçet's disease based on recent scientific advances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. aokada@po.iijnet.or.jp
authors.forename: Annabelle A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Okada
mesh_terms: D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology*; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015994:Incidence; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents