Hulusi Behçet

Scholar of medicine and dermatologist (B. 20 February 1889, Istanbul – D. 8 March 1948, Istanbul). He is the son of Ahmet Behçet, Director of National Education. He became famous with the disease known with his name. He started his education in 1895 in a French school in Beirut to where he went with his father who was Head of the Education Office in the first years of the republic. After Beşiktaş Secondary School and Kuleli Military Medical High School he graduated from Military Medical Faculty in 1910 with the rank of med. captain. He completed his education in Gülhane Military Hospital and worked until 1914 in Gülhane Dermatology and Syphilis Clinic. During his assistance in the dermatology clinic he worked together with famous doctors in the field of syphilis and besides with Eşref Ruşen, Talat Çamlı and bacteriologist Reşat Rıza who were pioneers in this field.

During the 1^st World War years (1914-18) he was appointed senior consultant assistant and dermatologist in Edirne, Eskişehir and Kırklareli hospitals. After the war he went abroad to increase his knowledge and experience. He worked around one year in various hospitals in Budapest and Berlin on skin and syphilis diseases. In 1919 he returned to Turkey and after his return he worked as a freelancer for a period. In 1923 he was senior consultant in Istanbul Sexual Diseases Hospital and a dermatologist in Vakıf Gureba Hospital. In 1933 he established Istanbul Medical Faculty Skin Diseases and Syphilis Clinic and became a professor. Hulusi Behçet who was the first Turkish academic who obtained the title of professor became a  professor in ordinary in the same department in 1939.

The most important service of Hulusi Behçet which introduced him to the world of science is his discovery of the disease known with his name as “Behçet Disease”, “Behçet Syndrome”, “Trisystem Behçet” or “Morbus Behçet”. The symptoms of this disease have been known since Hippocrates but there was not any diagnose present. Hulusi Behçet as a result of his works starting from 1924 recognized that the disease did not consist of numerous diseases but only one disease. He published the conclusions of his works in 1936 abroad and attracted attention. The disease was called “Morbus Behçet” upon the suggestion of the academic member of Zurich Medical Faculty Department of Dermatology, Mischer, during the international medical congress summoned in Geneva on the 13-14 September 1947.

Starting from that day numerous countries including primarily Japan and England, USA, France and others analyzed this disease at depth. Especially the increase of the number of patients and that the prognosis of some patients reached critical levels led physicians to seek efficient treatment methods; however when we look to the past, in spite of all studies and researches, positive and assertive results about reasons and treatment methods of the disease defined by Hulusi Behçet in 1936 could unfortunately not be reached.

Behçet disease is identified due to certain symptoms which are rarely seen by children and old people. Symptoms and findings of this disease which are called main criteria are following: It is mainly a vein infection and therefore symptoms are visible on places where the infection is present. It is not necessary that all symptoms appear in the same time. Some symptoms can appear a few years later while they are absent in the first years of the disease. Some symptoms and signs of Behçet disease can be observed in the same time by diseases such as Lupus, Lyme and Crohn. It is necessary to take these diseases into account before the diagnosis of Behçet disease. There are also other symptoms and signs which are not accepted within criteria of Behçet disease but which are useful for diagnose. Nowadays, in accordance with the period of the disease there are various treatment methods.

Hulusi Behçet acquired unequivocal and definitive knowledge about the treatment of this disease. Countries such as Japan, USA, France and England which focus on this disease could not reach the point he reached yet. One should also add the works on other branches of dermatology to this important discovery of Hulusi Behçet. Besides his researches on skin diseases which are often present in our country such as fungus, oriental sore, dermatitis figus carica, acarodermatitis urticarioides are notable.

Hulusi Behçet’s researches on fungus were awarded with 1935 Budapest International Dermatology Congress diploma and plaque. He presented the etiology of acarodermatitis urticarioides with his studies, introduced dermatitis figus carica to the world, and attracted the attention of the world with his researches on oriental sore. He is honored with 1935 Budapest International Dermatology Congress Diploma and Plaque and after his death “TÜBİTAK Science Award” thanks to his contribution to Turkish and world medicine. After the introduction of Surname Law, Hulusi was given the Surname “Behçet” by Atatürk.

Hulusi Behçet starting from 1934 started to publish a review titled Deri Hastalıkları ve Frengi Klini­ği Araştırmaları and meanwhile took place among the editors of international medical reviews such as Dermatologische Wochenschrift and Medizinischer Welt. In around two hundred articles he published in national and international reviews he especially focused on diseases such as Behçet disease, oriental sore, fungus diseases, dermatitis figus carica and acaro dermatitis urticarioides. Aside from them, he made researches in almost all fields of dermatology. He has hundred and ninety-six works large and small. He passed away after a heart disease in 1948.

MAIN WORKS:

Haleb veya Şark Çıbanlarının Diyatermi ile Tedâvisi (1922, 1925), Emrâz-ı Cildiy-ye ve Efrenciyyede Laboratuvarın Kıy­met ve Ehemmiyeti (1923), Frengi Tedâvisi Hakkında Beynelmi­lel Anketlerim (İ1923), Was-sermann Hakkında Nokta-i Nazar ve Frengi Tedâvisinde Düşünceler (with N. Ramih, 1924), Frengi Karha-i İbtidâiyyesi ve Serîri, Hurda-bînî Teşhisi (1926), Memleke­timizde Arpa Uyuzlarının Menşei Hak­kında Etütler (M. Hodara ve Süreyya ile birlikte, 1927),  İrsî Frengi Kli­niği (1929), Frengi Dersleri (1936), Klinikte ve Pratikte Frengi Teşhisi ve Benzen Deri Hasta­lıkları (1940). 

REFERENCE: Türkiye Ansiklopedisi (c. 5, s. 357, 1974), Meydan Larousse Ansiklopedisi (c. 2, s. 243, 1980), Abdulhakim Koçin / “Çağımızın Ünlü Bilgini Hulusi Behçet (Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi, Nisan 1991, s. 46-47), A. Latif  Tat / “Hocam Hulusi Behçet (Türkiye Klinikleri Dergisi, 5. Özel Sayı, s. 393-395), Çağını Aşanlar (Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi, Mayıs 1991), Büyük Larousse (c. 3. s. 1454, 1992, Behçet maddesi),  Hasan Doğruyol / “Behçet, Hulusi - Kendi adıyla anılan “Behçet Hastalığı”nı keşfeden Türk hekimi” (TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (c.5, s. 350-351, 1992), Ana Britannica (c. 5, s. 58-59. 1994), İhsan Işık / Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).