Denna sida har översatts automatiskt och översättningens korrekthet kan inte garanteras. Vänligen se engelsk version för en källtext.

Non-Coding RNAs Gene Expression in Psychiatric Disorders (PsiRNA26)

18 juni 2026 uppdaterad av: Carmen Concerto

Gene Expression Analysis of Non-coding RNAs in Psychiatric Disorders

This study aims to investigate whether specific non-coding RNAs, molecules involved in the regulation of gene expression, are altered in individuals with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Researchers will compare the expression levels of these molecules in patients who are drug-naïve or have been free from psychiatric treatment for at least six months with those observed in healthy volunteers.

The study will also evaluate whether the expression of these non-coding RNAs changes after approximately five months of standard psychiatric treatment. Blood samples collected during routine clinical care will be used to measure the expression levels of selected non-coding RNAs using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), a laboratory technique used to assess gene expression.

This is an observational study and does not assign specific treatments. All therapies will be prescribed according to standard clinical practice.

The main objective is to determine whether alterations in non-coding RNA expression may serve as biological markers of psychiatric disorders and whether these markers may help monitor treatment-related changes over time. The findings may contribute to a better understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying major psychiatric disorders and support the future development of more accurate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Studieöversikt

Detaljerad beskrivning

This is a multicenter, prospective, observational case-control study designed to evaluate the expression of selected non-coding RNAs in psychiatric disorders. The study will include adult drug-naïve or drug-free patients diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder type I or II, Panic Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or Schizophrenia, as well as healthy volunteers recruited from transfusion services.

Patients will be assessed at baseline (T0) and again after at least five months of pharmacological treatment (T1). Healthy controls will be assessed at baseline only. No treatments will be assigned for the purposes of the study. All pharmacological therapies will be prescribed according to routine clinical practice.

Peripheral blood serum samples will be collected from patients and healthy controls. For patients, residual peripheral venous blood collected during routine laboratory investigations will be used for study purposes. Serum samples will be centrifuged, stored at -80 °C, and subsequently transferred on dry ice to the Cellular and Molecular Biology Laboratories of the University of Messina.

Total RNA will be extracted from serum samples and reverse-transcribed into cDNA. Expression levels of selected miRNAs and lncRNAs will be analyzed using RT-qPCR. Relative expression levels will be quantified using the 2^-ΔΔCt method.

The study aims to identify possible ncRNA expression abnormalities in major psychiatric disorders, evaluate treatment-related changes over time, and explore the potential role of ncRNAs as biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment monitoring.

Studietyp

Observationell

Inskrivning (Beräknad)

384

Kontakter och platser

Det här avsnittet innehåller kontaktuppgifter för dem som genomför studien och information om var denna studie genomförs.

Studiekontakt

Studieorter

    • Sicily
      • Catania, Sicily, Italien, 95123
        • Psychiatry Unit, Via Santa Sofia 78
        • Kontakt:
        • Underutredare:
          • Dr Fabrizio Bella, MD
        • Underutredare:
          • Professor Antonino Petralia, PhD, MD
        • Underutredare:
          • Professor Carmen Concerto, PhD, MD
        • Underutredare:
          • Dr Ludovico Mineo, PhD, MD
        • Underutredare:
          • Dr Lucia Basile, MD
        • Underutredare:
          • Professor Cinzia Santa Di Pietro, PhD
      • Enna, Sicily, Italien, 94100
        • Psychiatry Unit, Contrada Ferrante SNC
        • Kontakt:
      • Messina, Sicily, Italien, 98125
        • Cellular and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Tower of Biological Laboratories, 5th Floor Via Consolare Valeria 1
        • Kontakt:
          • Professor Angela D'Ascola, PhD
          • Telefonnummer: +39 090 221 3389
          • E-post: adascola@unime.it
        • Underutredare:
          • Professor Michele Scuruchi, PhD
        • Underutredare:
          • Professor Salvatore Campo, PhD
        • Underutredare:
          • Professor Giuseppe Maurizio Campo, PhD
        • Underutredare:
          • Dr Angela Avenoso, PhD
      • Messina, Sicily, Italien, 98125
        • Psychiatry Unit, Via Consolare Valeria 1
        • Kontakt:
      • Palermo, Sicily, Italien, 90127
        • Psychiatry Unit, Via del Vespro 129
        • Kontakt:
        • Underutredare:
          • Dr Giovanna Marrazzo, PhD, MD

Deltagandekriterier

Forskare letar efter personer som passar en viss beskrivning, så kallade behörighetskriterier. Några exempel på dessa kriterier är en persons allmänna hälsotillstånd eller tidigare behandlingar.

Urvalskriterier

Åldrar som är berättigade till studier

  • Vuxen

Tar emot friska volontärer

Ja

Testmetod

Icke-sannolikhetsprov

Studera befolkning

The study population will consist of adult psychiatric inpatients and day-hospital/day-service patients recruited from the Psychiatry Units of the University Hospitals of Catania, Messina, Palermo, and the Psychiatry Unit of Umberto I Hospital in Enna. Eligible participants will include drug-naive or drug-free subjects diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder type I or II, Major Depressive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or Schizophrenia. Healthy controls will consist of volunteer blood donors recruited from the transfusion services of the participating university hospitals.

Beskrivning

Inclusion Criteria (patients):

  • Age between 18 and 55 years;
  • Male sex or female sex in the mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle;
  • Clinical presentation consistent with diagnostic criteria for:
  • Bipolar Disorder type I or II,
  • Panic Disorder,
  • Major Depressive Disorder,
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
  • Schizophrenia;
  • First diagnosis and drug-naive status, or absence of psychopharmacological treatment for at least 6 months prior to enrollment.

Inclusion Criteria (Healthy Control):

  • Age between 18 and 55 years;
  • Male sex or female sex in the mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle;
  • No treatment with psychotropic medications;
  • Absence of clinical elements supporting a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, Panic Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Schizophrenia;
  • Absence of clinical or laboratory evidence of infectious or internal medicine diseases;
  • Absence of autoimmune diseases;
  • HAM-D score < 8;
  • MRS score < 11;
  • Y-BOCS score < 7;
  • BPRS score = 18;
  • No significant stressful life events during the previous 6 months.

Exclusion Criteria (patients):

  • Current immunosuppressive, antibiotic, or hormone replacement therapy;
  • Relevant medical comorbidities, including autoimmune or internal medicine disorders;
  • Active infectious diseases or infections resolved less than 3 weeks before enrollment;
  • Relevant psychiatric comorbidities;
  • Current psychopharmacological treatment or discontinuation of psychopharmacological therapy less than 6 months before enrollment.

Studieplan

Det här avsnittet ger detaljer om studieplanen, inklusive hur studien är utformad och vad studien mäter.

Hur är studien utformad?

Designdetaljer

Kohorter och interventioner

Grupp / Kohort
Intervention / Behandling
Major Depressive Disorder Cohort
Drug-naïve or drug-free patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, assessed at baseline (T0) and after at least five months of standard pharmacological treatment (T1).
Gene expression analysis of selected non-coding RNAs using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Schizophrenia Cohort
Drug-naïve or drug-free patients diagnosed with Schizophrenia, assessed at baseline (T0) and after at least five months of standard pharmacological treatment (T1).
Gene expression analysis of selected non-coding RNAs using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Cohort
Drug-naïve or drug-free patients diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, assessed at baseline (T0) and after at least five months of standard pharmacological treatment (T1).
Gene expression analysis of selected non-coding RNAs using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Panic Disorder Cohort
Drug-naïve or drug-free patients diagnosed with Panic Disorder, assessed at baseline (T0) and after at least five months of standard pharmacological treatment (T1).
Gene expression analysis of selected non-coding RNAs using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Bipolar Disorder Cohort
Drug-naïve or drug-free patients diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder type I or II, assessed at baseline (T0) and after at least five months of standard pharmacological treatment (T1).
Gene expression analysis of selected non-coding RNAs using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Healthy Control Cohort
Healthy volunteers without current psychiatric disorders or psychotropic medication use, assessed at baseline only.
Gene expression analysis of selected non-coding RNAs using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

Vad mäter studien?

Primära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Differential Expression of Selected Non-Coding RNAs in Psychiatric Disorders
Tidsram: Baseline (T0)
Assessment of relative expression levels of a predefined panel of circulating non-coding RNAs (miRNAs and lncRNAs) in peripheral blood serum of drug-naive/drug-free psychiatric patients compared with healthy controls, using real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and quantified through the 2^-ΔΔCt method.
Baseline (T0)

Sekundära resultatmått

Resultatmått
Åtgärdsbeskrivning
Tidsram
Changes in Non-Coding RNA Expression After Pharmacological Treatment
Tidsram: Baseline (T0) and 5 months (T1)
Evaluation of changes in expression levels of circulating non-coding RNAs in psychiatric patients after at least 5 months of standard pharmacological treatment, comparing baseline (T0) and follow-up (T1) samples through RT-PCR analysis.
Baseline (T0) and 5 months (T1)
Differences in ncRNA Expression Between Psychiatric Patients and Healthy Controls
Tidsram: Baseline (T0)
Comparison of expression levels of ncRNAs involved in synaptogenesis, synaptic plasticity, glial activation, and stress-response pathways between psychiatric patients at baseline and healthy control subjects.
Baseline (T0)
Differences in ncRNA Expression Between Manic and Depressive Episodes in Bipolar Disorder
Tidsram: Baseline (T0)
Evaluation of differential expression of selected ncRNAs in patients with Bipolar Disorder during manic episodes compared with depressive episodes at baseline assessment.
Baseline (T0)

Samarbetspartners och utredare

Det är här du hittar personer och organisationer som är involverade i denna studie.

Sponsor

Studieavstämningsdatum

Dessa datum spårar framstegen för inlämningar av studieposter och sammanfattande resultat till ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter och rapporterade resultat granskas av National Library of Medicine (NLM) för att säkerställa att de uppfyller specifika kvalitetskontrollstandarder innan de publiceras på den offentliga webbplatsen.

Studera stora datum

Studiestart (Beräknad)

1 september 2026

Primärt slutförande (Beräknad)

1 september 2028

Avslutad studie (Beräknad)

1 september 2028

Studieregistreringsdatum

Först inskickad

10 juni 2026

Först inskickad som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

10 juni 2026

Första postat (Faktisk)

16 juni 2026

Uppdateringar av studier

Senaste uppdatering publicerad (Faktisk)

23 juni 2026

Senaste inskickade uppdateringen som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna

18 juni 2026

Senast verifierad

1 juni 2026

Mer information

Termer relaterade till denna studie

Plan för individuella deltagardata (IPD)

Planerar du att dela individuella deltagardata (IPD)?

NEJ

IPD-planbeskrivning

Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared.

Läkemedels- och apparatinformation, studiedokument

Studerar en amerikansk FDA-reglerad läkemedelsprodukt

Nej

Studerar en amerikansk FDA-reglerad produktprodukt

Nej

Denna information hämtades direkt från webbplatsen clinicaltrials.gov utan några ändringar. Om du har några önskemål om att ändra, ta bort eller uppdatera dina studieuppgifter, vänligen kontakta register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en ändring har implementerats på clinicaltrials.gov, kommer denna att uppdateras automatiskt även på vår webbplats .

Prenumerera