{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T18:24:43Z","timestamp":1791915883790,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":120,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,9]],"date-time":"2023-04-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1680998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Wellcome Trust and the Health Research Board Ireland","award":["203930\/B\/16\/Z"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["203930\/B\/16\/Z"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a common cutaneous and systemic inflammatory disease with a significant impact on mental health and quality of life. It is associated with obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular (CV) disease, and increased all-cause mortality. Metformin is used frequently in HS treatment and is effective for some patients. The mechanism of action of metformin in HS is unknown. A case-control study of 40 patients with HS (20 on metformin and 20 controls) was conducted to assess differences in metabolic markers, inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP], serum adipokines, and CV risk biomarkers), and serum immune mediators. Body mass index (BMI), insulin resistance (77%), and metabolic syndrome (44%) were high overall, but not significantly different between the groups. This highlights the need for co-morbidity screening and management. A significant reduction in fasting insulin and a trend towards a reduction in insulin resistance were identified in the metformin group compared with pre-treatment levels. CV risk biomarkers were significantly favourable in the metformin group (lymphocytes, monocyte\u2013lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil\u2013lymphocyte ratio, and platelet\u2013lymphocyte ratio). CRP was lower in the metformin group but was not statistically significant. Adipokines were dysregulated overall but were not different between the two groups. Serum IFN-\u03b3, IL-8, TNF-\u03b1, and CXCL1 trended lower in the metformin group but did not reach significance. These results suggest that metformin improves CV risk biomarkers and insulin resistance in patients with HS. When the results of this study are considered alongside other studies in HS and related conditions, it is likely that metformin also has beneficial effects on metabolic markers and systemic inflammation in HS (CRP, serum adipokines, and immune mediators), warranting further research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms24086969","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,10]],"date-time":"2023-04-10T03:49:29Z","timestamp":1681098569000},"page":"6969","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["Metformin Treatment of Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Effect on Metabolic Parameters, Inflammation, Cardiovascular Risk Biomarkers, and Immune Mediators"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7050-738X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roisin","family":"Hambly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Charles Centre, Department of Dermatology, St Vincent\u2019s University Hospital, D04 T6F4 Dublin, Ireland"},{"name":"Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6469-3462","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Niamh","family":"Kearney","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Charles Centre, Department of Dermatology, St Vincent\u2019s University Hospital, D04 T6F4 Dublin, Ireland"},{"name":"Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rosalind","family":"Hughes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Charles Centre, Department of Dermatology, St Vincent\u2019s University Hospital, D04 T6F4 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0670-6659","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jean M.","family":"Fletcher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, D02 R590 Dublin, Ireland"},{"name":"School of Medicine, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, D02 R590 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian","family":"Kirby","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Charles Centre, Department of Dermatology, St Vincent\u2019s University Hospital, D04 T6F4 Dublin, Ireland"},{"name":"Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18","DOI":"10.1038\/s41572-020-0149-1","article-title":"Hidradenitis suppurativa","volume":"6","author":"Sabat","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat. 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