Chromosome aberration in lymphocytes from Behçet's disease.

Peripheral lymphocytes from 14 patients with Behçet's disease (BD) were examined for frequencies of chromosomal aberration. The frequency of gaps and breaks were not high in patients with BD but the frequency of dicentrics was increased in patients treated with colchicine or anticancer medicines. Patients treated with neither colchicine nor anticancer medicines showed no increased frequency of dicentrics. Our data suggested that the effect of treatment with colchicine or anticancer medication was one of the causes of the chromosome aberration observed in some BD lymphocytes. No numerical abnormality was observed in BD lymphocytes.