EXPERIMENTAL BEHÇET'S DISEASE AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL X‐RAY MICROANALYSIS OF PATHOLOGICAL TISSUES

Abstract

ABSTRACT Environmental chemicals (benzene hexachloride(BHC) and dichlor diphenyl trichlor ethane(DDT) as organic chlorides, Sumithion as an organic phosphorated compound and copper powder) were mixed together and administered orally to pedigreed Pitman‐Moor's strain miniature swine for a period of about one year. Oral aphthae, folliculitis, cutaneous and subcutaneous nodules, genital ulcers, hyperemia of conjunctiva and intestinal ulcers were observed in all treated animals. Biopsy and autopsy specimens obtained from the experimental animals showed typical histopathological findings of human Behçet's disease. By ultrastructural X‐ray microanalysis of peripheral neutrophils, vascular endothelial cells and infiltrated cells in affected lesions obtained from the experimental animals, highly significant amounts of chlorine and phosphorus were detected, mainly in the lysosomes. The incidence of Behçet's disease has been reported in countries where pesticides made from organic chlorine, organic phosphorus, arsenic and copper compounds have been used in massive amounts. Therefore, our findings suggest that these environmental chemicals play a main role in the pathogenesis of Behçet's disease.