title: Behçet's Disease and Nervous System Involvement.
abstract: Management of neuro-Behçet's disease can be divided into two stages: treatment of acute attacks and prevention of relapses. Treatment of acute attacks is accomplished by high-dose intravenous corticosteroids followed by maintenance treatment with oral steroids for 6-12 months depending on the type and severity of the neurological involvement. Relapses can be prevented by using immunosuppressants. Oral immunosuppressants such as azathioprine and mycophenolate are the most widely utilized agents for this purpose. Patients who are refractory or who cannot tolerate these medications can be managed by cyclophosphamide, interferon alpha, or anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibodies such as infliximab, etanercept, and adalimumab. Recent reports showed that newer agents such as tocilizumab, canakinumab, and anakinra, which exert their biological activity through IL-1 and IL-6 pathways, are also promising treatment alternatives for progressive or relapsing patients.
authors.affiliation: Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kürtüncü
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Medicine and Research, Department of Neuroscience, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tüzün
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Bilim (Science) University, Istanbul, Turkey. akmandemir@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Gulsen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Akman-Demir
keywords: Autoinflammatory disorder; Behçet’s disease; Immunosuppression; Neuro-Behçet’s disease; Treatment