IgA nephropathy in a patient with Behçet's syndrome--case report and review of literature.

A 25-yr-old Turkish patient who presented with oral and genital ulcers, erythema nodosum and peripheral arthritis was diagnosed as having Behçet's syndrome (BS). The patient had normal renal function, but persistent proteinuria with 3 g protein loss/day. Renal biopsy revealed glomerulonephritis (GN) with IgA deposits in the membrane. Co-occurrence of BS and IgA nephropathy (IgAN) has only been reported once to date. In contrast to the statements in most current textbooks on BS, the review of the literature presented here suggests that renal involvement is not infrequent, but serious kidney disease is a rather rare event in Behçet's disease.