title: Effects of immunosuppressive drugs on oral mucosa in patients with Behçet's disease: cytomorphological and cytopathological assessment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate cytomorphological and cytopathological changes in oral exfoliated smears collected from immunosuppressed patients with Behçet's disease (BD) using stereological methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  For cytomorphometric analysis, mucosal cell smears were obtained from the buccal mucosa and the floor of the mouths of BD patients treated with immunosuppressive drugs and from healthy volunteers. All mucosal smears from the patients and the healthy volunteers were stained using the Papanicolaou method and examined cytopathologically under light microscopy and cytomorphologically via the stereological nucleator method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cytomorphological analysis revealed 3 types of mucosal cells, with numbers of particularly pink cells lower in the aphthous areas of the patients with BD compared to the healthy controls (P < 0.05). The nuclear volumes (NVs) and cytoplasmic volume (CVs) were significantly higher in the BD patients (P < 0.05), but the NV/CV ratio was higher only in the drug-use patient groups (P > 0.05). There was lower apoptotic activity in the nondrug-use patients with BD and in the immunosuppressive-taking BD patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that quantifiably morphological and morphometric changes in oral mucosa can be detected by stereological techniques. Changes in these parameters may indicate malignant transformation in the oral mucosa.
authors: Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors: Eda
authors: E
authors: Diyarbakir
authors: Department of Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors: Adem
authors: A
authors: Kara
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors: Sadullah
authors: S
authors: Keleş
authors: Department of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors: Jale
authors: J
authors: Selli
authors: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors: Handan
authors: H
authors: Bilen
authors: Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Turkey.
authors: Nilnur
authors: N
authors: Eyerci
authors: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors: Necmettin
authors: N
authors: Akdeniz
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors: Orhan
authors: O
authors: Ateş
authors: Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors: Hasan
authors: H
authors: Doğan
mesh_terms: D001528:Behcet Syndrome; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes; D009061:Mouth Mucosa
keywords: Behçet’s disease; oral cytology; quantitative cytomorphology; stereology