Study Shows GI Symptoms in Behçet's Disease, But No Clear Celiac Connection

Celiac.com 02/14/2019 - Behçet's disease is a rare disorder that causes blood vessel inflammation throughout the body. Symptoms and effects of the disease can seem unrelated, and can include mouth sores, eye inflammation, skin rashes and lesions, and genital sores. Other symptoms can include joint swelling and pain, and, more rarely, inflammation in the brain and nervous system that leads to headache, fever, disorientation, poor balance or stroke.

Behçet's disease shares some similarities with celiac disease, but there is very little data about a possible link between the two diseases. Moreover, reports of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms with marked upper GI symptoms in Behçet's disease are rare. A new study looks at celiac disease prevalence in a large series of patients with Behçet's disease

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A team of researchers recently set out to determine rates of celiac disease and to assess endoscopic findings in Turkish Behçet's disease patients. The research team included Erdem Koçak  Erdem Akbal  Yavuz Beyazit  Bilal Ergül  Arzu Karataş  Seyfettin Köklü, and H. Meral Ekşioğlu. They are variously affiliated with the Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Bilim University in Istanbul; the Department of Gastroenterology at ßanakkale State Hospital in ßanakkale; the Department of Gastroenterology at Kırsßehir State Hospital in Kırsßehir; the Department of Dermatology at the Ankara Education and Research Hospital; and the Department of Gastroenterology at Hacettepe University Hospital in Ankara, Turkey.

For the study, a total of 210 patients with Behçet's disease received anti‐gliadin and tissue transglutaminase antibody blood tests. The research team performed endoscopy in 190 patients, and performed duodenal biopsies on patients with positive serological assessment for celiac disease. Just over 4% of Behçet's disease patients tested positive for anti‐gliadin and tissue transglutaminase antibody immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG antibodies. Just over 1% of Turkish Behçet's disease patients had biopsy‐confirmed celiac disease. Antral gastritis, duodenitis and esophagitis were the most common GI findings in patients with Behçet's disease.

Clinically, Behçet's disease and celiac disease seem to have some things in common, but this study showed no clear connection between the two. Stay tuned for more on the latest research on possible connections between Behçet's disease and celiac disease. 

Source: International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases