The Pituitary World News Podcast

This is the first in our series of five podcasts on the medical management of Hypersortisolism due to Cushing's disease. Today Dr. Blevins discusses the drug Ketoconazole.

Today we welcome three renowned experts in the development of drugs to treat hypercortisolism. Dr. Blevins and I discuss their research, clinical trials, challenges, and opportunities for these essential medications that could immensely affect patient well-being and quality of life. This discussion touches on the fascinating details of hypercortisolism and the developments now and in the future.

November 1 is Acromegaly Day. In this Podcast, Dr. Blevins gives us a perspective of the last 30 years on the developments in this field. Like many other conditions, the advances in therapy, imaging, surgery techniques, diagnostic testing, and clinical knowledge have been nothing short of remarkable. The future looks bright with many initiatives and research on new drugs and therapies, but there is still much work to do.  

Last week we caught up with Risa in San Francisco, California. She was nearing 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) on her bicycle ride from Canada to Mexico to focus awareness of acromegaly and pituitary disease. We chatted at a cafe not far from the Golden Gate bridge about her experience and what it is like to undertake an effort like this one while managing a challenging disease like acromegaly. Not surprisingly the Fleet Week event in San Francisco created a few distractions as we were recording the podcast. When you hear it, you'll know why. Check out the ride's progress here, and on the Risa Unleashed page.

Dr. Lewis Blevins' discussion on the postoperative evaluation and management of patients with hypercortisolism is technical and directed to physicians, but we encourage everyone to listen to it. 

Dr. Blevins takes an in-depth look at Diabetes Insipidus with a specific focus on diagnostic testing. In this podcast, you will be hearing about the risks and benefits of treatment and a detailed review of diagnostic tools, with particular attention to copeptin measurements in conjunction with water deprivation and saline suppression tests.  This is critical information as diabetes insipidus can affect 2 to 10% of pituitary patients.

What happens when the insurance company's first line of response is to deny, deny, deny?  How does this increase in oversight from third-party payors impact the process of rare pituitary disease medicine authorizations indicated for treatment?  Why do insurance companies use these delay tactics? What role do treatment guidelines play? What can we do?  In this podcast, PWN cofounder Dr. Lewis Blevins shares his experiences and frustration with these problematic issues.

My conversation with Risa Heidt, who will be riding her bike from Canada to Mexico to promote awareness of rare pituitary diseases: Marisa "Risa" Heidt, diagnosed with acromegaly (a rare disease of the pituitary gland), in 2018, is undertaking this 1845-mile challenge starting this September 11. Click here for more details and what you can do to help.

In today's podcast, we welcome Claire Murphy, Director of the Orphan Drug Congress, to talk about this important, innovative event. The Congress brings together leading industry, government and regulatory authorities, patient advocacy groups, payers, investors, and solution providers, advancing orphan drug development and improving access to life-saving therapies.  

 

With the newly announced launch of the phase 3 trial on Paltusotine, Crinetics new nonpeptide oral drug candidate for acromegaly, we asked Dr. Alessandra Casagrande, their new Medical Science Director, to give us her perspectives on this study.