title: Behçet's disease associated with celiac disease: a very rare association.
abstract: There are common findings between Behçet's disease (BD) and celiac disease (CD); however, association in the same patient is a rarity. We relate the third case in the literature of this overlap in a 40-year-old woman with history of obstipation since her childhood. She also presented asymmetric polyarthralgia, loss of weight, anemia, oral recurrent aphthas (>3/year) and genital ulcerations, inflammatory lower back pain, bowel bleeding and abdominal colic. Afterwards, she presented episodes of erythema nodosum, superficial thrombophlebitis, pseudofolliculitis and aseptic meningitis, thus fulfilling criteria for BD. Due to persistence of the digestive complaints, a gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed. The biopsy showed chronic duodenitis with intraepithelial lymphocytosis, crypt hyperplasia, and villous atrophy. Endomysial antibody was positive. She fulfilled the diagnosis criteria for CD; a gluten-free diet was applied with clinical improvement. Ascertaining whether pathogenic mechanisms are common in these two conditions requires further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Division, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo e Hospital das Clínicas, Avenida Dr Arnaldo 455, 3 degrees andar, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cezar Augusto Muniz
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Caldas
authors.forename: Laís Verderame
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Lage
authors.forename: Jozélio Freire
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000178:diet therapy; D055050:Diet, Gluten-Free; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome