Quantitative Evaluation of Microvessels in Behçet's Disease

Behcet’s disease (BD) is a chronic polysymptomatic systemic vasculitis clinically characterised by recurrent oral and genital ulcers, skin manifestations, ocular lesions, arthritis, and intestinal and neurological involvement. Microand macro-vascular involvement is always seen and seems to be correlated to the clinical pattern. Videocapillaroscopy is safe, reliable, not invasive, and able to explore both skin and mucosal microcirculation. It explores capillary network and the arteriole-venule compartment which represents the so-called paramicrocirculation. Capillaries may undergo changes of their disposition, of their morphology, of length and diameter of afferent-intermediate-efferent branch. The morphologic modifications include alterations of wall profile and of whole vessel (incisures, mega-capillaries, micro-aneurysms, twisting vessels) and are often associated with neoangiogenesis, but also with avascularised areas (desertification). Alterations of arterioles and venules are represented by similar morphological changes and by modifications of arteriole-venule diameter. Both microand paramicro-circulation show the alterations of blood flow which is detected as granular appearance (sludging).