Both infliximab and adalimumab are safe and effective in achieving remission in patients with severe mucocutaneous Behçet syndrome, with adalimumab demonstrating a quicker response time; both drugs also improve quality of life and disease activity scores.

"ADA [adalimumab ] and IFX [infliximab ] were generally well tolerated and efficacious in patients with BS [Behçet syndrome ] who showed an inadequate response to prior treatments with at least AZA [azathioprine] or CyA [cyclosporine]," the authors wrote. "Although a more detailed treat-to-target profile is yet to be better defined, [the study] results are also crucial in terms of prescriptiveness (currently off-label), not only in Italy but also beyond national borders, as the evidence coming from real life still needs to be confirmed by growing data from clinical trials."

The study was led by Rosaria Talarico, MD, PhD, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, and was published online on October 17, 2024, in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The small sample size and the distinctive study design may have limited the generalizability of the findings.

This study was funded through a grant from the Italian Medicines Agency. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.