The importance of serum interleukin-20 levels in patients with Behcet's disease

Background. Behcet's disease (BD) is a complex multisystemic disease with an unknown origin, which presents with aphthous and genital ulcers, cutaneous lesions, arthritis, ocular lesions, and defects in the gastrointestinal and central nervous systems. Objectives. In this study, we examined the relationship between serum interleukin-20 (IL-20) levels and disease activity in BD patients. Material and methods. A total of 45 BD patients diagnosed according to the BD diagnosis criteria determined by the International Study Group for Behcet's Disease were included in the study. Out of 45 patients, 17 had inactive BD and 28 had active BD. The control group consisted of 25 healthy subjects. The IL-20 levels of all the groups were detected and compared with each other. Serum IL-20, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were examined. Results. The IL-20 levels of the active BD patient group were significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.001) and in the inactive BD patient group (p < 0.001). No statistically significant difference was detected between the IL-20 levels of the control group and the inactive BD patient group (p = 0.2). Conclusions. Higher IL-20 levels in active BD patients, when compared to inactive BD patients and healthy controls indicate that the disease is an inflammatory one and IL-20 plays a role in the disease pathogenesis. Moreover, it can be concluded that IL-20 might have a role in the complex process of the settlement and activation of the disease.