Promising new therapies for Behcet's disease

improved understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of Behcet's disease (BD), and especially of the molecular basis involved in its pathogenesis, has sparked a new generation of potential BD treatments with improved side effect profiles and/or more specific targeting of the immune system. These therapies include new immunosuppressants, biologic medications, tolerizing agents, and immunoablation techniques, a number of which are currently in use in clinical practice (interferons). While some of these new therapies target specific inflammatory mechanisms in SLE (tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors), others work by non-specific inhibition of the immune system (immunoablation). Each of these approaches will be discussed in this review. (C) 2006 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.