Clinical and immunological effects of azithromycin in Behçet's disease.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of azithromycin on mucocutaneous manifestations, oral health and immune response in Behçet's disease (BD).

Methods: Eight BD patients with active mucocutaneous symptoms were treated with azithromycin for 4 weeks. Oral health, clinical manifestations and in vitro interleukin (IL)-12, interferon (IFN)-gamma, IL-10 and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 responses were evaluated before and after treatment.

Results: The number of folliculitic lesions, healing time of oral ulcers and scores of plaque indexes (PLIs) were lower after azithromycin treatment (P<0.05). Scores of PLIs correlated positively with the healing time of oral ulcers (P=0.02). Although a trend towards increased stimulated IL-10 responses with azithromycin was observed, no statistically significant difference was found. Stimulated and unstimulated MCP-1, IFN-gamma and IL-12 responses were similar before and after treatment (P>0.05).

Conclusions: Azithromycin was observed to be effective in decreasing folliculitic lesions and fastening the healing time of oral ulcers in BD.