The Pituitary World News Podcast

S6E1: 1. Exploration, Innovation and Creativity: An intimate look at new drug development in the world of pituitary and neuroendocrine disease

This is the first in a series of 6 podcasts on the ins and outs of drug development.  In it, we discuss the journey that a promising molecule takes to develop into a life-saving medication and the people that steer that rigorous work.  How does a company go from a molecule to the actual medication? What are the steps? Who is involved? What are the processes and barriers?  And what does that process look like in real-time?  Thanks to a kind invitation from Dr. Scott Struthers, chairman of Crinetics Pharmaceutical and his team, PWN readers and listeners will get an unfettered look at a young company's efforts to develop new drugs to solve unmet needs in acromegaly, Cushing's and rare neuroendocrine disease.  Don’t miss it!

S5E15: A discussion of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin and its use in men with hypopituitarism and infertility

Today's podcast discusses HCG and its use with men with hypopituitarism and infertility.  Dr. Blevins focuses his discussion on many of the relevant subjects related to hypogonadism (where the body does not produce enough testosterone),  especially as it relates to hypopituitarism, a condition in which the pituitary gland does not produce one or more of its hormones or not enough of them to function normally

S5E14: A fascinating chat between a patient and her doctor

Don't miss today's podcasts. Sometimes it is through these genuine, unscripted chats that we get insight into what it is like to deal with chronic pituitary disease, in this case, acromegaly. This podcast is no exception. In it, Dr. Blevins and his patient Monica talk about it and deliver a fascinating perspective

S5E13: Silent Pituitary Adenomas

Our podcast today is on silent pituitary adenomas.  This is a fascinating look into these tumors that are thought not to secrete hormones.  In the podcast Dr. Blevins discusses the complexities and challenges when dealing with these specific adenomas. The podcast also mentions a recent paper on the subject published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.  Click here to read more about the abstract.

S5E12: Pegvisomant, glucose metabolism, and acromegaly

In this podcasts, we discuss an important recent meta-analysis study from the University of Rome on the relationship between pegvisomant, a drug used for the treatment of acromegaly, and glucose metabolism. Dr. Blevins also dives into a fascinating discussion about meta-analysis studies, their advantages, and limitations and, importantly, the need to be very cautious when reading the results. Like in any search, there is excellent information out there, but there is also copious amounts of trash.

S5E11: Why do adenomas recur?

Today's podcast is about silent Corticotropic adenomas and the recurrence rate of these tumors vs. all pituitary adenomas.  Dr. Blevins weighs into a recent paper as well as current research to discuss why adenomas recur and importantly, why long term follow-up is essential and must be continued.

S5E10: An informal chat about today's health insurance's trials and tribulations

Frustrations with the health insurance industry seem to be steadily increasing for patients and physicians alike as politicians use patients as pawns in a sad, ridiculous game without any apparent care to people's health and well being.  This podcast offers a glimpse into physicians and patients growing frustrations with the system.

S5E9: A review of drugs for tumors that produce ACTH

In this podcast, Dr. Blevins reviews a study conducted at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany on pituitary tumor therapeutics and the treatment for tumors that produce ACTH and cause Cushing's.  Dr. Blevins reviews study findings and discusses the things that can be done against a tumor other than surgery and radiotherapy.  These studies may have an essential role in the management of Cushing's disease in the future.

S5E8: Oxytocin and hypopituitarism

In this podcast, Dr. Blevins dives into a very interesting paper recently published in the Journal of Pituitary, April 2019.  The paper focuses on a study about oxytocin and hypopituitarism relating to emotional responses and reactions as well as other neuropsychiatric problems

S5E7: The incidence of Cushing's

In this podcast, we discuss the latest data on the incidence of Cushing's disease worldwide based on a recent Swedish study on the subject, and the importance of disease awareness in early diagnosis.