Exploration of Brain Functional Networks in Patients With Hidradenitis Suppurativa Using fMRI

Inclusion criteria

For Participants With Hidradenitis Suppurativa:

• Aged 18 to 45 years.
• Diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa according to established clinical diagnostic criteria.
• Able and willing to comply with the study procedures and follow-up assessments.
• Able to provide written informed consent and willing to permit photography of affected skin areas.
• No coexisting systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, atopic dermatitis, steroid-dependent dermatitis, or other relevant skin diseases.
• No use of biologic or small-molecule therapy that may affect hidradenitis suppurativa symptoms within 3 months before enrollment.
• Right-handed according to the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory.

For Healthy Participants:

• Aged 18 to 55 years.
• No hidradenitis suppurativa or other chronic skin disease.
• No chronic pain disorder.
• No major neurological or psychiatric disorder.
• Right-handed according to the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory.
• Able to provide written informed consent and comply with the study procedures.

For the Longitudinal Treatment Cohort:

• Meets the eligibility criteria for participants with hidradenitis suppurativa.
• Is scheduled to receive biologic or small-molecule therapy for hidradenitis suppurativa as part of routine clinical care, as determined by the treating physician.
• Willing and able to complete assessments before treatment and during 3 months of follow-up.

Exclusion criteria

• Participation in another investigational drug study within 1 month before enrollment.
• Alcohol or drug abuse or dependence within the previous 3 months.
• Current use of medications that may lower the seizure threshold or current use of antidepressant medication.
• Previous or current treatment with electroconvulsive therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, or transcranial magnetic stimulation.
• Serious cardiac, hepatic, pulmonary, renal, thyroid, hematologic, or other systemic disease; malignant tumor; or another clinically significant abnormality that, in the investigator's judgment, makes participation inappropriate.
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
• Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or another major psychiatric disorder.
• A neurological condition that may interfere with participation or interpretation of the imaging results, including markedly elevated intracranial pressure, intracranial vascular lesions, impaired consciousness, or inability to cooperate with study procedures.
• Any contraindication to magnetic resonance imaging, including intracranial metallic foreign bodies, cardiac pacemakers, incompatible vascular or cardiac implants, or claustrophobia.
• Inability to remain still or comply with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging procedures.
• Unwillingness to allow study data to be collected.