Interferon alfa-2a in the treatment of Behçet's disease.

BACKGROUND

There is no definite treatment for Behçet's disease. New drugs are being evaluated in cases unresponsive to conventional treatment modalities.

OBJECTIVE

In this study we investigated the efficacy of interferon alfa-2a on skin lesions in 18 Behçet's disease patients who had predominantly mucocutaneous involvement.

METHODS

Eighteen patients with Behçet's disease were treated with interferon alfa-2a at 3 million IU/day in the first week (three times a week), 6 million IU/day in the second week (three times a week), 9 million IU/day in the third week and thereafter (three times a week). Interferon alfa-2a was administered subcutaneously for a total of 12 weeks.

RESULTS

At the end of the treatment the efficacy of the drug was found to be good in 9 patients and very good in 7 patients. Interferon alfa-2a is particularly effective in skin manifestations such as genital ulceration and erythema-nodosum-like lesions. It was also found to be effective in systemic manifestations such as fever, diarrhea and eye involvement.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that interferon alfa-2a is a promising drug in the treatment of Behçet's disease.