Immunological studies on Behçet's syndrome.

Summarized results of the clinical and laboratory findings in 85 cases of Beh9et's syndrome seen at our clinic between September, 1957, and April, 1961, have already been reported (Oshima, Shimizu, Yokohari, Matsumoto, Kano, Kagami, and Nagaya, 1963). Investigation revealed a high incidence of abnormalities, not only in the mouth, eyes, and genital organs, but also in the intestine, cerebrospinal fluid, and plasma proteins. A homologous antibody against human oral mucous membrane tested by the tanned-cell haemagglutination technique proved positive in seventeen of forty cases of Behqet's syndrome and the titre changed along with the clinical course of the disease, though it proved negative in eighteen healthy controls. These data suggest that the disease must be systemic. Moreover, recurrence of the multiple manifestations characterizes the clinical picture of Behqet's syndrome (Mavioglu, 1958; Strachan and Wigzell, 1963; Shimizu, Kagami, Matsumoto, and Matsumura, 1963). No causative micro-organism was found in spite of fever, general malaise, and the progressive course of the disease. These findings suggest that an autoimmune mechanism may be concerned in the pathogenesis and development of these characteristic recurrent clinical features. The present investigation deals mainly with immunological studies on our cases of Beh9et's syndrome.