Neuro-Behçet's disease: analysis of apparent diffusion coefficients

Little is known about the diffusion properties of brain lesions in neuro-Behçet's disease (NBD). We looked at 19 NBD lesions (13 active, six chronic) in six patients, using diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI). We calculated the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) of the lesions and compared them with normal contralateral brain, expressing this ratio as relative ADC (rADC). The rADC was 1.29±0.33 in active and 1.44±0.47 in chronic lesions, i.e., significantly higher than in the control regions. Increased diffusivity in both active and chronic phases in NBD is different from the pattern in ischaemic infarcts, so that ADC analysis might be helpful for differentiating between these conditions.