1989 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 135-141
A 52 year old man with Behcet disease complicated with mononeuritis multiplex is reported. Having been suffering from Behçet disease without uveitis for 15 years, he was admitted to our hospital because of pain and hypesthesia of fingers with an aggravation of inflammatory symptoms. Muscle weakness and hypesthesia were observed in distal parts of the four extremities, but no abnormality was found in cranial nerves or central nervous system. EMG examination revealed not only neurogenic changes of distal muscles but also reduced nerve conduction velocity of peripheral nerves. Skin temperature of finger tips was demonstrated to be decreased by a thermographic examination, although his large arteries and veins seemed intact on an RI angiography. Biopsies of sural nerve and sural muscle revealed mononeuritis multiplex due to vasculitis of small-sized arteries. After treatments with NSAIDs, colchicine and prostaglandin E1, the general inflammatory symptoms and pains of the fingers were reduced with an improvement of the peripheral neuropathy.
This case shows that Behçet disease can be associated with peripheral neuropathy without any other involvement of nervous system. Moreover, vasculitis of small arteries, which is commonly observed in skin or intestinal lesions of this disease, can be a cause of the peripheral neuropathy.
