Low-dose natural human interferon-alpha lozenges in the treatment of Behçet's syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
There had been evidence that low-dose local IFN could be beneficial in the management of recurrent oral ulcers (OUs). We investigated the efficacy and collected initial data on the safety of low-dose natural human IFN-alpha administered by the oral mucosal route in Behçet's syndrome (BS) in a placebo controlled, double blind study.


METHODS
Eighty-four (59 males and 25 females) patients with BS with mainly skin mucosa disease and a history of recurrent OU for > or = 1 year were studied. When they had at least two OUs with a total diameter of > or = 4 mm, they were randomly allocated to (i) 2000 IFN-alpha IU/day, (ii) 1000 IFN-alpha IU/day and (iii) placebo groups. Subjects were monitored weekly over an initial 4 weeks and bi-weekly for an additional 8 weeks of treatment. OU were counted and measured at each study visit. The primary efficacy end point was the difference in the total ulcer burden at Week 0 compared with that at Week 12.


RESULTS
Out of the 84 patients enrolled, 72 completed the trial. There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment arms in terms of the primary endpoint.


CONCLUSIONS
Low-dose natural human IFN-alpha did not have beneficial effects on reducing the total ulcer burden among BS patients from Turkey. The study also showed that counting the number of ulcers rather than measuring the size would be adequate in future studies.


BACKGROUND
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00483184, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=NCT00483184.
Kiliç
Hasan
H
Division of Rheumatology, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Turkey.
Zeytin
Hasan E
HE
Korkmaz
Cengiz
C
Mat
Cem
C
Gül
Ahmet
A
Coşan
Fulya
F
Dinç
Ayhan
A
Simşek
Ismail
I
Süt
Necdet
N
Yazici
Hasan
H
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019226:Oral Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D013607:Tablets; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D016898:Interferon-alpha; D013607:Tablets