The Pituitary World News Podcast

S9E3: A story about a nurse with acromegaly

Meet Laura Cheng. Laura is a nurse. She has acromegaly. She works as a clinical nurse and is currently enrolled in the endocrine certificate program and pursuing a Master's Degree in nursing at Duke University. Laura's connection to this disease gives her a unique perspective and will provide an invaluable resource to her patients. We caught up with Laura a few weeks ago. This is her story.

S9E2: Dr. Sylvia Asa discusses her groundbreaking work in endocrine pathology

This week's Live-talk offers critical knowledge that people affected with pituitary and endocrine diseases need to know to ensure they receive proper treatment. Dr. Sylvia Asa, a pioneer in endocrine and pituitary tumor pathology, talks with Dr. Lewis Blevins about her work in the field and the reclassification of pituitary adenomas to Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors, or PitNets, which she recently led. This is crucial knowledge you don't want to miss! And please stay tuned for a downloadable document with the essential questions to ask about the pathology of your tumor to ensure your physician has the pertinent information for your treatment.

S9E1: Insurance challenges, clinical cases and much more

In our first live-talk session of 2023, we focus on critical topics, including insurance delay trends affecting pituitary medical practices, interesting clinical cases we can learn from, where telemedicine is going after the Covid era, and more commentary from the subjects we covered in our recent "briefing and insights" article.  Please stay tuned for an announcement on the next live-talk discussion subject, and join us live to call in and participate.

S8E30: Access to medications: challenges and opportunities

 Pituitary World News has undertaken an initiative to understand and share the complicated issues related to medication access so patients can join us in advocating for a better system. In that tangle, we find insurance companies, orphan drug manufacturers, specialty pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), prescribers, and others that add to the costs and complicate access. The issues get even murkier when considering patients on Medicare and Medicaid, their pricing models, and copay requirements. We are committed to understanding the issues from all angles, how they affect pituitary patients' care, and the advocacy effort needed to make it better, lower out-of-pocket costs, and, more significantly, simplify access. Additionally, we aim to understand how prescription drug regulations affect patients and physicians. This is the first in a series of podcasts and articles on the subject.

S8E29: New drugs and therapies in the pipeline for acromegaly and Cushing’s

Today we present an excellent discussion with Dr. Alan Krasner, Chief Medical Officer for Crinetics Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Krasner speaks to PWN about two very important drugs currently under development. Learn about what is coming, the timelines, potential new therapies, and approaches in acromegaly, Cushing's, and hyperinsulinism. These are exciting times in the field with a forward-thinking, creative group of scientists applying their knowledge and experience in pituitary and neuroendocrine science to develop new approaches and solutions for patients. This is a discussion you don't want to miss! Click on this link to learn more about Crinetics' clinical studies and how to participate.  

S8E28: Adenomas and Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors

The ongoing debates and nomenclature change and reclassification are apparently over, and adenomas and now referred to as Pit-Net's (pituitary neuroendocrine tumors).  Is this good, bad, or indifferent?  These are complicated matters, so to shed some more light on the subject, we've invited some experts to discuss them.   In today's live talk, I'm joined by co-host and PWN cofounder Dr. Lewis Blevins; as you all know, Dr. Blevins is the Medical Director of the California Center for Pituitary disorders at UCSF. Also with us is Dr. Manish Aghi.  Dr. Aghi is a frequent contributor to PWN and an attending Neurosurgeon California Center for Pituitary Disorders. Professor of Neurological Surgery and Principal Investigator, UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center’’  We are also delighted to welcome Dr. Arie Perry. Dr. Perry is the director of neuropathology at UCSF; he specializes in diagnosing benign and cancerous nervous system tumors, including those of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. He is also a specialist in classifying the molecular genetics of tumors, which can be used to help determine the best treatment.  To learn more, this PWN article provides additional background and reading on the subject.

 

S8E27: Pseudo Cushing’s syndrome: a discussion and a case study

In today's podcasts, Dr. Blevins talks about the genesis of pseudo Cushing's syndrome and illustrates a fascinating case of pseudo Cushing's syndrome due to alcohol ingestion.

S8E26: What is medical decision-making

What does medical decision-making mean, and what is involved?  What are pituitary specialists thinking about when faced with decisions on how to treat a patient?  This live talk session aims at answering these tough questions.  Dr. Blevins walks us through the case of a patient with high cortisol to illustrate the types of decisions physicians make and what those decisions are based on when trying to solve a medical mystery to best help patients.  This podcast will shed some light on what a physician does when making medical decisions.  Enjoy! To learn more, this book by Dr. Lewis Blevins, "The Art of Neuroendocrinology: A Case-Based Approach to Medical Decision-Making," provides additional reading. The book is available through Amazon. Click here to read more.

S8E25: Lab result targets

In this podcast from our "musings series" comes an interesting discussion on lab result targets. This case comes from a hypothyroid patient who wanted to achieve a particular TSH lab result target. In the discussion, Dr. Blevins focuses on how the pituitary works, how lab tests work, and what makes aiming at and achieving a narrow target almost impossible.

S8E24: Pituitary surgery: before, during and after

Do you ever wonder what happens in the OR after you are wheeled in? We welcome once again our friend and contributor, Manish Aghi, M.D. Ph.D., Attending Neurosurgeon at the California Center for Pituitary Disorders, Professor of Neurological Surgery, and Principal Investigator at UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center. He spent an amazing hour with Dr. Blevins and me, walking us through his work with patients before surgery, his approaches post-surgery, recovery, potential issues, and the many other phases of pituitary surgery. If you have had pituitary surgery or are about to have it, you don't want to miss this frank and intimate conversation with one of the best neurosurgeons in the business. Dr. Manish Aghi specializes in operating on brain tumors, including pituitary adenomas. In addition, he has particular expertise in performing endoscopic endonasal surgery for pituitary and skull base lesions.