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World J Clin Cases. Aug 16, 2026; 14(23): 124314
Published online Aug 16, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.124314
Published online Aug 16, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.124314
Letter to the Editor: Clarifying the scope of integrated psycho-ophthalmology: Reply to commentary on ‘When eye disease affects the mind’
Matteo Capobianco, Eye Clinic, Policlinico G. Rodolico, University of Catania, Catania 95121, Italy
Matteo Capobianco, Faculty of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy
Marco Zeppieri, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Udine, Udine 33100, Italy
Marco Zeppieri, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste 34127, Italy
Author contributions: Capobianco M and Zeppieri M did the research and writing of the manuscript, prepared the draft and final paper, and were responsible for the conception and design of the study; Zeppieri M assisted in the editing, making critical revisions of the manuscript and viewing all versions of the manuscript. All authors provided the final approval of the article.
AI contribution statement: ChatGPT (OpenAI, GPT-5.3) and Grammarly were used to assist with summarizing existing literature, addressing issues in the rebuttal, and enhancing the flow and English language quality. No AI-generated images were used.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Corresponding author: Marco Zeppieri, MD, PhD, Consultant, Postdoc, Department of Ophthal
Received: June 11, 2026
Revised: July 21, 2026
Accepted: July 28, 2026
Published online: August 16, 2026
Processing time: 62 Days and 9.7 Hours
Revised: July 21, 2026
Accepted: July 28, 2026
Published online: August 16, 2026
Processing time: 62 Days and 9.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The intention of the commentary is to delineate the ambit and meaning of the earlier published psyche-ophthalmology case series. The initial case series was an exploratory project of minor availability, feasibility and useful application from the clinical therapeutic point of view of a promising active holistic approach. The study looked at reciprocal relationship between eye disease and psychological distress, use of screening tools like Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the exploratory nature of “vision-identity-autonomy” triad. This case series calls for additional controlled studies.