title: Antistreptolysin O Levels in Patients with Behcet's Disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Behcet's disease is a multisystem inflammatory disorder, and its etiology has not been defined clearly yet. In this study, we aimed to investigate the antistreptolysin O (ASO) levels of patients with Behcet's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients with Behcet's disease and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. We measured erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and ASO levels in both groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with respect to demographic data (p>0.05). The ASO levels of the patients and the controls were 288.4±145.7 and 170.6±142.4 ng/ml, respectively. In the patients with Behcet's disease, ASO (p<0.01) and ESR (p<0.05) values were significantly higher than in the healthy controls. There was no other significant difference in serum CRP levels between the patients and the controls. We could not find any correlation among ASO, CRP, and ESR values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that serum ASO levels may increase in patients with Behcet's disease. Further studies are needed in order to define the relationship between ASO levels and inflammation status in Behcet's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hulya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uzkeser
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Saliha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karatay
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kadir
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karakuzu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muhammed Hamidullah
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Uyanik
keywords: Antistreptolysin O; Behcet’s disease; Inflammation