Behqet's disease (BD) is best considered as a systemic vasculitis in which recurrent orogenital ulceration is a prominent feature. In 1937 Hulusi Behqet described the syndrome that bears his name' but the term 'BehNet's disease' is now used in preference to 'Behqet's syndrome'. Behqet, himself, recognized the problems related to its diagnosis for which there remains no diagnostic test. BD is ra...

AIM To detect the immunohistopathology of necrotising scleritis. METHODS Immunohistochemical staining was performed on two groups of enucleated eyes with necrotising scleritis (systemic autoimmune disease and idiopathic scleritis). Deparaffinised sections were stained with CD3, CD20, CD68, CD8, CD4 and dendritic reticulum cells (DRC). RESULTS Within the autoimmune group, about 43% of inflam...

The immunopathology of sarcoidosis remains elusive despite years of research into this multiorgan disease.However, recent studies have provided new insights into the genetics and immune components involved in the clinical manifestation of the disease. Granulomatous inflammation is due to the host immune response to a persistent poorly degradable unknown antigen.Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) ...

There is an increasing incidence of sepsis among hospitalized patients. Also, high mortality associated with sepsis and septic shock persists despite appropriate antibiotic therapy. Recent investigations have demonstrated that bacterial antigens stimulate a cascade of cellular mediators or cytokine release. In sepsis and septic shock the response of these cytokines often exceeds natural downreg...

The early history of transplantation is born of legends. The Saints Cosmas and Damian, who lived in the third century allegedly, treated a white patient by removing one of his legs and by grafting that of a black man who had died the same day (Figure 1.1) (1). In modern times, many experimental transplantations, mostly in dogs and cats and then in humans, were attempted in the twenties and thir...

Interleukin-1 (IL-l) has protean effects in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These effects include production of prostaglandins and collagenase from rheumatoid fibroblasts as well as upregulation of adhesion molecule expression on these cells. IL-1 can activate monocytes and neutrophils, as well as promote the growth of fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Recently, a novel interleu...