Juvenile Behcet's disease: Highlighting neuropsychiatric manifestations and putative genetic mechanisms

Behcet's disease is a multisystem inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology. We report a 12-year-old boy who presented with features of raised intracranial tension and seizures and was found to have cerebral venous sinus thrombosis on evaluation. Behcet's disease was diagnosed based on occurrence of recurrent oral and genital ulcers in the past and characteristic skin lesions subsequently. He also showed significant personality changes including multiple attempts of deliberate self-harm. Pedigree analysis revealed that six family members spanning three generations had recurrent oral ulcers and three members satisfied the criteria for Behcet's disease. Clinical features varied amongst the family members and there was suggestion of genetic anticipation. The index case was carrying HLA-B37/B7 and the mother was carrying B37/B40. Our report sheds light on the genetics of Behcet's disease. Unusual features were early age of onset, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, significant personality changes and strong family history with phenotypic heterogeneity. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.