Renal Behçet's disease: an update.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of this study are (1) to report 33 patients with Behçet's disease (BD) having various renal manifestations, and (2) to update current data using our patients and published papers about BD and renal manifestations.


METHODS
The PubMed database was searched using the terms BD or Behçet's syndrome. We found reports of 94 patients (including ours) with BD and specific renal diseases (amyloidosis, 39; glomerulonephritis [GN], 37; renal vascular disease, 19; interstitial nephritis, 1).


RESULTS
The presentation of renal disease was edema/nephrotic syndrome in 12 patients (36%). Renal disease was incidentally diagnosed by routine urine analysis and measurement of serum creatinine level in 20 patients (61%). Renal failure was present in 23 patients (70%) and 5 of them have had cyclosporine treatment. The frequency of renal disease among BD patients has been reported to vary from less than 1 to 29%.


CONCLUSIONS
The clinical spectrum of renal BD shows a wide variation. Amyloidosis (AA type), GN, and macroscopic/microscopic vascular disease are the main causes of renal BD. Patients with vascular involvement have a high risk of amyloidosis and amyloidosis is the most common cause of renal failure in BD. Several types of glomerular lesions are seen in BD. Current treatment options for renal BD are not evidence based. Radiological vascular intervention combined with immunosuppressive drugs can be useful in selected cases. Routine urine analysis and measurement of serum creatinine level are needed for early diagnosis of renal BD.
Akpolat
Tekin
T
Ondokuz Mayis University School of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey. tekinakpolat@yahoo.com
Dilek
Melda
M
Aksu
Kenan
K
Keser
Gökhan
G
Toprak
Omer
O
Cirit
Mustafa
M
Oğuz
Yusuf
Y
Taşkapan
Hülya
H
Adibelli
Zelal
Z
Akar
Harun
H
Tokgöz
Bülent
B
Arici
Mustafa
M
Celiker
Hüseyin
H
Diri
Banu
B
Akpolat
Ilkser
I
D000328:Adult; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D004487:Edema / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D003404:Creatinine