Infliximab for the treatment of Neuro-Beh\ue7et's disease: a case series and review of the literature

Beh\ue7et's disease (BD) is a vasculitis in which the hallmark lesions are oral and often genital ulcers. Involvement of parenchymal central nervous system (neuro-Beh\ue7et's) is a serious complication commonly characterized by brainstem and/or basal ganglia lesions. To date, treatment of neuro-Beh\ue7et's remains largely empirical, and may not adequately control the disease. Serum tumor necrosis factor \u3b1 (TNF\u3b1) levels are increased in active BD, suggesting a role for TNF\u3b1 in disease pathogenesis. Clinically, significant improvement of various BD manifestations has been reported with TNF\u3b1 blockade. However, evidence for the efficacy of TNF\u3b1 blockers in the treatment of neuro-Beh\ue7et's is scant. We present 8 patients with neuro-Beh\ue7et's who responded favorably to infliximab therapy and review the relevant literature