EFFECT OF CYCLOSPORINE-A ON THE HEARING-LOSS IN BEHCETS-DISEASE

Thirty-five patients with Behcet's disease (20 under cyclosporine A [CyA] treatment and 15 under the conventional therapy), 12 patients suffering from endogenous uveitis, and 35 normal subjects were evaluated audiologically before entering the study and were followed up for at least a year. Twenty-eight Behcet patients (80 %) showed some degree of hearing loss. The averaged pure tone audiogram of the Behcet group showed statistically significant auditory deficits in comparison with that of the control group. None of either the Behcet group or the uveitis group showed any hearing deterioration during the follow-up period. Five Behcet patients under CyA therapy demonstrated improvement in their hearing. The difference between the two groups of Behcet patients (CyA versus conventional treatment) was found to be statistically significant (p < .05). Thus, CyA might serve as an important mode of treatment of sensorineural hearing loss on an inflammatory "autoimmune" background.