DIAGNOSTIC CHALLENGES OF NEURO-BEHÇET’S DISEASE: A BRIEF SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36557/2674-8169.2025v7n12p1281-1293Palavras-chave:
Neuro-Behçet’s syndrome; Behçet’s disease; Vasculitis; Biomarkers.Resumo
Background: Neuro-Behçet’s (NB) disease is a severe neurological complication of Behçet’s disease (BD), characterized by diverse and nonspecific symptoms.
Objective: To analyze the main diagnostic challenges in NB, considering clinical nonspecificity, limitations of complementary tests, and gaps in diagnostic criteria.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SciELO databases (April–May 2024), including 22 studies published between 2013 and 2024. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies addressing diagnostic aspects of NB in Portuguese, English, or Spanish.
Results: NB symptoms are often confused with other neurological diseases. Pyramidal, cognitive, behavioral, and sphincter symptoms vary in frequency, requiring careful differential diagnosis. MRI and cerebrospinal fluid analyses have low specificity; chronic cerebral atrophy is associated with poorer neurological outcomes.
Conclusions: Diagnosis of NB remains primarily clinical and requires multidisciplinary evaluation. Advances in biomarkers, including neurofilament light chain (NFL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), criteria validation, and predictive tools are needed for early identification and treatment. Recognition of systemic features such as pathergy reaction or HLA-B51 positivity may provide additional clues to support suspicion of underlying Behçet’s disease.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Milena de Andrade Lima
Este trabalho está licenciado sob uma licença Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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