Cerebrospinal Fluid Levels of Interleukin-17 and Interleukin-34 in Patients with Neuro-Behcet’s Syndrome

Abstract

Behcet’s disease (BD) is a rather rare chronic multisystemic vasculitic disease. Clear neurological involvement is observed in up to 49% of patients with BD. Cytokines play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of BD. Data on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of cytokines in patients with Neuro-Behcet’s disease (NBD) are limited. We measured the CSF levels of Interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-17F, and IL-34 in 7 patients with NBD (median age of 38 years). Eleven control subjects were of a median age of 42 years. There was no significant difference in the male-to-female ratio and age between the NBD and control groups (P > 0.05). There was also no significant difference in biochemical values of CSF between NBD patients and control subjects. The CSF levels of IL-17 was significantly higher in patients with active NBD compared to the control (P 0.05). This is the first study investigating the CSF levels of IL-34 in patients with NBD. Further studies with a larger sample size are required to confirm the role and values of the IL-34 levels in NBD.