Audio Vestibular Involvement in Behçet’s Disease

Abstract

The audio-vestibular system is often involved in many autoimmune syndromes as Cogan’s syndrome and Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener’s granulomatosis) but an involvement in Behçet’s disease is reported more frequently only in the last years. Behçet’s disease was first defined by Hulusi Behçet in 1937. It is a refractory multisystem disorder mainly presenting with recurrent oral aphthae and genital ulcerations, skin lesions, and uveitis. The disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder involving the small vessels, which is of unknown etiology. It has a worldwide distribution with a prevalence ranging from 1:1000 to 1:10,000 in Japan and Turkey to 1:500,000 in North America and Europe. The aetiopathogenesis is obscure but Behçet’s disease is considered to be immune-mediated.