Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic, multisystem inflammatory disorder characterized by relapsing oral aphthous and genital
ulcers, ocular
inflammation, erythemanodosum and
folliculitis-like lesions of the skin,
arthritis, and central nervous system involvement. Its pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated but the etiology is accepted to be multifactorial, therefore the treatment of
Behcet's disease continues to be a major therapeutic challenge. The identification of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of these disorders is important.
Calcitonin (CT), a
peptide hormone secreted in response to
hypercalcemia, has the dual effect of inhibiting osteoclast recruitment as well as their resorptive activity. A number of reviews have concluded that
salmon calcitonin is safe and effective in the treatment of
osteoporosis.
Calcitonin abrogated the stimulating effect of RANKL or
prednisolone; similar results were obtained with OPG. Additionally, the
analgesic activity of
salmon calcitonin has been shown in several controlled prospective double-blind studies to improve
pain. Exogenous
calcitonin is thought to cross the blood-brain barrier and to accumulate slowly in the brain, inducing
analgesia once sufficient receptors are occupied. Since CT could antagonize resorptive and
analgesic activity by competitively binding to CTR and has been considered as a specific antagonist, we postulate that the CT could function as a novel agent to inhibit BD. In our opinion, if the hypothesis proved to be practical, CT could be widely used in clinical settings to treat BD.