Non-Coding RNAs Gene Expression in Psychiatric Disorders

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.