Umut Akova
Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Hulusi Behçet is remembered for describing the rare disease that now bears his name. Born on February 20, 1889, in Istanbul, he moved to Damascus at a young age. He attended a French-speaking elementary school, learning French, Latin, and German. At age sixteen, in 1906, he enrolled at the Imperial Military Medical School in Istanbul, a prestigious institution that trained many of the Empire’s leading physicians and medical researchers.

Behçet completed his medical studies in 1910 and specialized in dermatology and venereal diseases. During World War I, he worked as a dermatologist and venereologist at the Edirne Military Hospital. Following the war, he journeyed to Europe to enhance his expertise, spending time in Berlin and Budapest, then returning to Turkey in 1923, where he assumed the role of chief physician at Hasköy Venereal Diseases Hospital in Istanbul. After working here for about six months, he was transferred to Guraba Hospital School of Medicine at Bezmialem University. He was given the title of professor after the university reform in 1933, making him the first Turkish dermatologist to receive the title.¹ Subsequently, he founded the dermatology and venereology department at the University of Istanbul and led it until his death in 1948.²

It was during his time at the Guraba Hospital that he saw three patients presenting with a peculiar set of symptoms: recurrent oral and genital ulcers, skin lesions, and eye inflammation.³ He meticulously documented these patients’ clinically similar presentations and, over the next few years, amassed a wealth of clinical data, carefully noting the patterns and characteristics of this seemingly new syndrome. He concluded that this was a hitherto undescribed disease and presented his observations at a meeting in 1936. His findings were published in the Archives of Dermatology and Venereal Disease. The following year, he elaborated on his ideas in the Dermatologische Wochenschrift and published his seminal paper titled “Triple Symptom Complex of Relapsing Iritis with Hypopyon, Ulceration of Mouth and Genitalia.” A further detailed paper was published in Dermatologische Wochenschrift in 1938.⁴

Behçet’s disease is a systemic vascular disease affecting multi-system inflammatory disorder characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers, eye inflammation (uveitis), skin lesions, and various other symptoms. The disease can also affect other organs and systems, including the central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, and cardiovascular system, making it a challenging condition to diagnose and manage. Its cause remains unknown. HLA-B51, and particularly HLA-B5101, has been associated with it, and it has been proposed that a genetic predisposition exists. Still, the actual association has not been well defined.⁵

Hulusi Behçet’s contributions to medical science were widely recognized during his lifetime. He died in 1948, and in the same year, the syndrome he described was officially named “Behçet’s disease.”

During his illustrious career, Dr. Behçet published over 196 articles, over 50 of which were published in prestigious international journals.⁶ He received numerous honors and accolades, including the prestigious Turkish State Medal for Distinguished Service in 1946. His legacy extends beyond the medical community, as he is celebrated in Turkey for his contribution to science and his recognition of a disease that disproportionately affects people from Turkey and across the Silk Road from China to Japan.

References

1. Tüzün Y. Hulusi Behçet, MD. Clinics in Dermatology. 2006 Nov;24(6):548–50. doi:10.1016/j.clindermatol.2006.05.001.
2. Shakeri A. Hulusi Behçet—A Life of Passion and Endeavor in Dermatology. JAMA Dermatol. 2018 Apr;154(4):440. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.6364.
3. O’Duffy JD. Behçet’s syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine. 1990;Feb;322(5):326-8. doi:10.1056/nejm199002013220509.
4. Saylan T. Life Story of Dr. Hulusi Behçet. Yonsei Medical Journal. 1997 Dec;38(6):327.doi:10.3349/ymj.1997.38.6.327.
5. Mizuki N, et al. Behçet’s disease associated with one of the HLA-B51subantigens, HLA-B* 5101. Am J Ophthalmol. 1993;116:406-9.
6. Arslanbenzer H. Hulusi Behçet: A life of devotion and endeavor in dermatology. Daily Sabah. 2020 Apr 10.