The Pituitary World News Podcast

S8E18: Residual and recurring Cushing’s

It's always fascinating to listen to two of the recognized experts and leading clinicians in Cushing's disease discuss their experiences with the disease and patients.  In this "Live Talk" session, Pituitary World New's innovative program for education and awareness, Dr. Kevin Yuen and Dr. Lewis Blevins bring an intimate, revealing look at their approaches to Cushing's disease and syndrome.  The discussion focuses on their experiences and how they think about their patients, and the options they have available for treatment.  Listen and learn their views on each available drug to treat the disease and their rationale for recommending treatment options.  And don't miss the discussion on access to those medications, including insurance coverage issues, towards the end of the session.  Enjoy!

S8E17: Pituitary dysfunction after Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)

In this podcast, Dr. Lewis Blevins discusses traumatic brain injury (TBI) and hypopituitarism with Dr. Tamara Wexler, a nationally recognized neuroendocrinologist and expert in pituitary dysfunction after a brain injury. They focus on the many aspects of assessing pituitary function in people with traumatic brain injuries. Dr. Wexler's research efforts focus on pituitary dysfunction after brain injury. Don't miss this fascinating discussion. Click here for more PWN articles on TBI.

S8E16: Advocacy and Cushing’s: a chat with the CSRF

I'm happy to welcome Leslie Edwin, president of Cushing's Support and Research Foundation (CSRF), to our microphones. The CSRF is a leading Cushing's disease and syndrome patient support organization. We talked about the opportunities and barriers for Cushing's patients and advocates. Geri Brown, a Cushing's patient and member of the CSRF, also joined us to talk about her perceptions as a new group member. Our discussion provided a great deal of patient information on the CSRF programs and plans.

 

S8E15: Emotional well being, mental health and the pituitary

Mental health and emotional wellness are essential topics for pituitary patients, their families, and friends. This on-demand session from last Thursday's live-talk program focuses on the challenges and opportunities when considering these issues. This is a compelling discussion from the psychological and the medical point of view about the importance of putting people's mental and emotional well-being center stage when considering the treatment of endocrine disorders. PWN contributor and author Linda M Rio chats with Dr. Lewis Blevis and myself about tools and resources and the need for more research and work in this critical pituitary patient care and wellness area.

S8E14: Medical decision making

Decisions made by doctors and their patients can be some of the most complicated, difficult decisions to make. They cover choices of treatment, medications, desired outcomes, and a host of complex variables that play a role in a person's health. It is perhaps one of the least understood aspects of the doctor-patient relationship. This session focuses on the factors that influence medical decision-making, the impacts those decisions carry, and how the practical clinical aspects of these choices affect our everyday lives. We also cover interesting examples from Dr. Blevins' clinical practice and other essential elements such as non-medical factors like insurance and other payor issues, the role of computers and artificial intelligence, treatment guidelines, and the ever-present Google search.

S8E13: The semantics of pituitary conditions

Semantics, or by definition, the way we relate to different meanings of words or other symbols, are essential to medicine and pituitary medicine. The words we use to communicate and inform are critical. In our session today, we discuss the semantics of pituitary medicine and underline the importance of describing things accurately. Brain tumors and pituitary tumors are they the same? What is the difference between diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus? How about adrenal and Addison's disease? And what is the discussion between NETs (neuroendocrine tumors) and pituitary tumors? Are they the same should they be jointly classified? Our session today dives into these subjects and a few other pearls you don't want to miss. Also, we welcome two callers as they share their views and challenges with interesting comments.

S8E12: The world of endocrine nursing: a chat with Dr. Chris Yedinak

In this podcast,  we dive into the world of endocrine nursing with Dr. Chris Yedinak from the Oregon Health and Science University.  Chris is a family nurse practitioner and clinical research trials coordinator who oversees patient care at the OHSU Northwest Pituitary Center. Educated in Sydney, Australia, Chris has a background in psychiatric nursing care and tertiary education. Her research interests include pituitary pathology and Cushing's disease. For the last five years, she has specialized in neuroendocrine testing and pre-and post-operative care of patients with neuroendocrine and pituitary diseases.  Nurses play a critical role in the care of patients with pituitary disease and we are delighted to bring you this wonderful conversation.

 

S8E11: A conversation with Amryt’s new president for the Americas, Sheila Frame

We caught up with Sheila a few weeks ago at the Acromegaly Community Conference near San Francisco. We had a captivating chat about Mycapssa (oral octreotide), the new and only oral medication for the treatment of Acromegaly, where we learned about the drug since its introduction 18 months ago. But we also wanted to know about Amryt, a newcomer to the US and soon to all the Americas. We talked about Amryt's start in Dublin, Ireland, just six years ago, its philosophy, brand, and plans. We also took advantage of Sheila's extensive experience in healthcare to ask about her views. We touched on rare disease diagnoses, the state of endocrinology drug development in the US and globally, access to medication, patient support, and the burden of dealing with insurance issues, specifically those related to prior authorizations.

S8E10: Valuable insights from actual pituitary medicine practice

This session presents more musings based on the actual practice of pituitary medicine. These insights derived from real cases include discussions of issues with Growth Hormone and the problems physicians have when they prescribe it. You don't want to miss this enlightening segment. Also, in the session, the recent Covid-19 surge and dexamethasone dose adjustments, and an interesting empty sella with an enlarged pituitary gland, you might find insightful. On the "be careful of what you read on the internet" front, a few postings on Facebook on gadolinium and the connection between mold and pituitary tumors misinformation flying around on the internet. Lastly, Dr. Blevins muses about adrenal and pituitary Cushing's from a recent case. We close with a look at telemedicine and discuss some changes that may not be that good for patients regarding the evolving issues about access to treatment by specialists across state lines. Stay tuned for more insights on this vital telemedicine access issue and how to help us advocate for patient choice and access by experienced specialists, regardless of where you live.  

S8E9: Live-Talk Session 6: May 19, 2022 - Biotin’s effect on lab tests

Dr. Lewis Blevins talks with guest Dr. Saleh Aldasouqi, Professor, Chief, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Clinician at Michigan State University Specialty Center, Endocrinology Clinic, about Biotin use and its interference with laboratory tests. This is definitely something you need to know to plan discontinuance of the supplement to allow for lab testing. You won’t want to miss this discussion. To learn more about this issue you can access the links we included in the article related to this podcasts 
with more details on the issues with Biotin use and how it can lead to misdiagnosis.