The Pituitary World News Podcast

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.

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.

To continue our focus on pituitary awareness month, this session touches on various issues related to awareness and its importance as a critical factor in reducing the time to diagnosis. Dr. Blevins illustrates a few cases of hypercortisolism from his busy clinic to explain the elements that make pituitary disease complex to diagnose and treat. Many excellent examples to add to your knowledge! Please give us your comments and ideas for future live-talk sessions. Click here to participate.

If you didn't have a chance to hear it live, here's a podcast from the live talk session from last Thursday with special guest, PWN friend, and contributor pituitary neurosurgeon Dr. Sandeep Kunwar.  He joined Dr. Lewis Blevins for a great discussion of the latest in pituitary surgery and disease management. These are two of the most experienced pituitary physicians in the world, providing a personal, intimate look at their craft.  Don't miss this podcast with tons of information and insight from two leading world-class professionals.  Enjoy!   Learn more about Dr. Kunwar in this video from the California Center for Pituitary disorders at UCSF and listen to this podcast we did with him a few years ago. Don't miss "Live Talk" Thursday, September 22, 3:00 pm PST.

An informative discussion on the effects of hormones on hair loss, a common occurrence for people dealing with pituitary conditions.  In this LIve-talk session, Dr. Blevins discusses the facts and the myths.

 

On our Live-talk program today, a fascinating, nothing left on the table, discussion about a variety of topics that affect pituitary patients; from access to medication and therapies to problems with social media and misinformation to the complexities of diagnosis and refuting diagnosis to the role of the doctor and the patient in getting involved to solve many of these challenges. This is an eclectic, honest, unscripted look at these matters from the physician and patient perspective, resulting in various points of view necessary to advocate for better systems.

Today's podcast focuses on an opportunity to learn about a group of rare diseases that share a common condition with pituitary disease. Histiocytosis or histiocytic disorders are a group of rare diseases that occur when there is an overproduction of white blood cells known as histiocytes that can lead to organ damage and tumor formation. DI impacts almost 50% of Histiocytosis patients and 35% of pituitary patients. I am pleased to welcome three advocates Deanna Fournier, Executive Director of the Histiocytosis Association; Kathleen Brewer, founder/president of the Erdheim-Chester Disease Global Alliance; and Claudio DiGirolamo, President of the Histiocytosis Association of Canada, to talk about these diseases and their advocacy efforts. 

 

We have also written extensively about DI and have recently devoted a live talk show on the subject. You can review that content here.

 

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!

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.

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.