Behcet's Disease

Behcet's disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting multiple parts of the body, with no known cure though its symptoms can be managed. It causes painful sores on the mucous membranes of the mouth and elsewhere, inflammation in the eye, and arthritis, with sores typically lasting from a few days to more than a week and symptoms that come and go over time. Less often it causes inflammation of the brain or spinal cord, blood clots, aneurysms, or blindness. Its cause is unknown, though it is thought to be partly genetic and it is not contagious; diagnosis requires at least three episodes of mouth sores in a year along with at least two of genital sores, eye inflammation, skin sores, or a positive skin prick test. It is rare in the United States and Europe but more common in the Middle East and Asia, usually beginning in a person's twenties or forties.