13th International Conference on Behçet’s Disease, May 24–27, 2008, Pörtschach am Wörthersee, Austria

jrheum081008Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic, chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder classified among the vasculitides, the cause of which is still unknown.Since 1964, international meetings on BD were held in Rome, Istanbul, Tokyo, London, Rochester, Paris, Tunis, Reggio Emilia, Seoul, Berlin, Antalya, and last in Lisbon in 2006.At the recent conference in Pörtschach, Austria, 170 clinicians and scientists from 22 countries met to continue the multidisciplinary exchange on this disease.More than 130 abstracts were presented, providing the most recent data on epidemiology, diagnostic methods, clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, and therapeutic options in BD.A selection of these reports is summarized here.EPIDEMIOLOGY BD is a universal disorder, with varying prevalences in countries near the so-called Silk Road as well as in non-Silk Road countries.N. Dilsen reviewed the current data on prevalence rates in the USA (0.33 per 100,000), Germany (0.55-20.75 per 100,000), England (0.64 per 100,000), Sweden (1.18 per 100,000), Portugal (1.53 per 100,000), Italy (2.5 per 100,000), Japan (13.5 per 100,000), Saudi Arabia (20.0 per 100,000), Iran (100.0 per 100,000), and Turkey (80-370.0 per 100,000).New data from Olmsted County, Minnesota, USA, suggest a higher prevalence of BD (5.2 per 100,000) in this region, comparable to that in Southern Europe (K.T. Calamia).In BD cohorts from silk-route countries men are predominately affected, whereas women are overrepresented in groups from European countries and the USA (K.E.Sharquie, M. Smiti-Khanfi, report of the International Team for the Revision of the International Criteria for Behçet's Disease; 2006).