The Pituitary World News Podcast

Today’s podcast is about our super athlete friend Risa August and her new book, “The Road Unpaved.”  We first met Risa in 2019 when she came to the Pituitary World News/UCSF patient gathering. We chatted about her experience and and her plans to ride her bike from Canada to Mexico. We followed her herculean effort to ride 1845-plus miles to get from Canada to Mexico on the Pacific Coast Highway, which, as you can imagine, is no picnic for anyone, let alone if you are fighting acromegaly symptoms. It is downright amazing she did it at all. Now, she has written a book about her experience with acromegaly, the ride, and life. Learn more about Risa, her practice, her upcoming plans at Risa Unleashed, read her PWN articles search for Risa or Marisa here, or go to – www.risaaugust.com

The Spanish Endocrine Conference was organized late last year by the "Sociedad Española de Endocrinologia y Nutricion (SEEN). SEEN offers an excellent resource for information to the Spanish-speaking world. Spain and Spanish-speaking countries have been our focus as we seek to develop more content in Spanish for our edition of Pituitary Word New in Español. Today's podcasts covers part of the conference and shares my conversations with three world-renowned Spanish endocrinologists. Don't miss my chat with Dr. Elena Valassi on how Cushing's and acromegaly affect bones and muscles. Dr. Manel Puig Domingo talks about his views on the new nomenclature or terminology between adenomas and neuroendocrine tumors (PitNets), a thorny issues we've been covering from all angles. He also gives us an update on his projects on facial recognition in acromegaly;  a fascinating subject since it could have a considerable impact on the early diagnosis of acromegaly. Lastly, I chatted with my good friend Dr. Javier Salvador, who recently retired from clinical work after almost 50 years as one of Spain's leading endocrinologists and professors at the University of Navarra. We chatted about endocrine education, awareness, technology, early diagnosis, and his new assignment teaching medical ethics. I hope this podcast will give you a new perspective from these leading researchers and physicians tackling these challenging diseases.

In today's podcast, we talk with Giacomo Chiesi, Head of Global Rare Diseases at the Chiesi Group, where he leads a team in developing and marketing treatments for rare and ultra-rare diseases. Chiesi, headquartered in Parma, Italy, is a family-owned enterprise in an industry not known for many family businesses.   Chiesi entered the acromegaly space when the company recently acquired Ireland-based Amryt Pharma, which marketed the acromegaly oral drug MYCAPSSA. As you will hear, Chiesi is a fascinating company with a rich history. It is not only dedicated to rare diseases but also has an unrelenting focus on forward-thinking business practices. We talked at length about their initiatives and position on social responsibility, patient centricity, patient care, and environmentally sustainable practices. Learn more about Chiesi, their plans, and current patient support initiatives like Chiesi Total Care. We are truly delighted to bring you this podcast.

Today's' podcast is a recording of the Pituitary World News talk program that aired live on November 16. The information comes directly from one of the busiest, most successful clinics in the world of pituitary disease. The podcast presents a real-world, honest, in-depth discussion of health insurance denials, how this practice affects patients and physicians, how they use guidelines to muddy the process, oppose individualized care, and question a specialist's decision-making. Although most denials are successfully resolved, they undoubtedly increase costs and produce immeasurable anxiety, often leaving patients with no other choice than to get legal help or take medications that may not be what their specialist physicians prescribe. Insurance denials are real issues facing patients today and are central to a health system that desperately needs a major overhaul. Please listen and share your thoughts.

In today's podcast, Veronica, an MBA graduate of Notre Dame University and law school student, tells us about her experience with a prolactinoma. What is interesting about this story is that in pituitary medicine, where delays in diagnosis and general unawareness are all too often the order of the day, this is a perfect example of how awareness and smart thinking make things work as they are supposed to. The patient is aware and digs for information, primary care docs are aware, involved, and immediately tuned in to a possible diagnosis, and the patient gets to the specialist for prompt treatment. We want to see more stories like Veronica's!

Podcast and Video: In today's podcast and accompanying video of this MRI, Dr. Blevins discusses and illustrates a case of a patient with a double pituitary adenoma.  He also talks about the types of adenomas that can produce several hormones.  Listen to Dr. Blevins as he discusses this case and shows us a video of the MRI.   This MRI video illustrates the double pituitary adenomas discussed in the podcasts. Watch it here!

Today, Dr. Scott Struthers talks to PWN about paltusotine, their new once-a-day acromegaly oral drug candidate. Crinetics recently published results from the latest phase of the paltusotine clinical trial. He discussed the results and provided a fascinating look at the details and their learning from the data as they analyzed these initial results. He also shared the status of a new drug for Cushing's and Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), currently entering phase 2 of a clinical trial. Don't miss it!   For those following PWN, you may recall we recorded our first podcasts with Dr. Struthers when paltusotine entered its clinical trial in 2017. If you haven't heard it, I highly recommend it. It is really interesting to hear Dr. Struthers talk about their work on drugs for acromegaly and other neuroendocrine disorders and how the company has progressed since those early days. Also, if you'd like to learn more, listen to our podcast series on new drug development, "The Journey to a New Drug."

Today, I am particularly thrilled about this podcast with a group of leading professional nurses who are educators, scientists, researchers, nurse practitioners, and graduate students. Their work is critical to pituitary patients' care and quality of life. It affects how endocrine nurses practice and how they are trained, what they learn, and how they do their jobs. In this podcast, you will hear their opinions about the opportunities and challenges, the issues they face in ensuring enough well-trained endocrine nurses enter the profession to satisfy the demands, and their views on the future. I want to thank these extremely busy pros for taking the time to chat with me and for their tremendous work for us all. Enjoy!

Listen to this podcast and learn more about this new groundbreaking educational program exclusively produced by Pituitary World News. And later this week, don't miss the first episode of this exciting initiative.   Stay tuned!

In this brief podcast, Dr. Blevins relates a fascinating Cushings case to talk about the importance of understanding disease patterns and how depth of knowledge gives physicians the critical skills to recognize unusual conditions.

Noncompliance with required Doctor follow-up visits and properly taking medications is a serious issue. Dr. Blevins tackles this problem with real clinical examples in this brief podcast.

Listen to this informative podcast with Ren Renwick, CEO of the Pituitary Foundation in the United Kindom. The foundation is a leading volunteer organization providing a variety of resources and support functions for people with pituitary disease. These include helplines with nurses and patients where people can ask medical and practical questions and a variety of helpful resources for patients' physical and emotional well-being. Ren shares some of the foundation's best practices in the podcast and highlights their critical services. The Pituitary Foundation UK is undoubtedly one of the most effective organizations helping people affected by pituitary disease today. Don't miss this informative discussion. For more information, visit the UK Pituitary Foundation's website here

Continuing our recent coverage of brain fog, Dr. Blevins and I discussed a few examples from his clinical practice and personal experiences with the condition. We also cover a fascinating case from his clinic about a patient with an empty sella incidental finding and residual disease. We covered a lot of ground and interesting subjects in this session you don't want to miss, including how medicine and medical care have changed, the need for more pituitary centers of excellence, and how working on Pituitary World News has affected how we look at things. Please join us!

With today's podcasts from this week's live-talk show, Dr. Blevins recaps our content dedicated to Global Cushing's month with a talk about two fascinating recent Cushing cases from his practice. He also touches on some very interesting caveats about thyroid hormone replacement. Then, after a surprise musical interlude (you'll have to listen to find out), we discuss the current social media challenges and look at what's coming to Pituitary World News. Don't miss the discussion, and don't forget to subscribe here so you can receive notifications whenever we publish a new article or a podcast.

Listen to this fascinating discussion of adrenal Cushing's or hypercortisolism as Dr. Lewis Blevins walks us through the disease's characteristics, biochemistry, and treatment options. In the talk, he focuses on different conditions, including adrenal adenomas, adrenal cancer, adrenal hyperplasia, and other related diseases like Carney Complex and McCune-Albright syndrome. Dr. Blevins also focuses on other situations where unrelated reasons lead to discovering adrenal adenomas or mild adrenal hyperplasia, resulting in pathological cortisol secretion. Finally, he closes the discussion with two recent cases from his practice that illustrate the issues related to these conditions.

Today's program focuses on interactions between the medical and psychological worlds. Join Dr. Blevins and me as we welcome PWN contributor, marriage and family therapist, and author Linda Rio for a fascinating discussion on how pituitary disease, or any chronic disease, manifests itself mentally and emotionally. Listen as we muse on how emotional health and psychological distress can affect people's daily lives and how they deal with their disorders. Our talk covers other interesting issues, including how the medical and psychological world intersect, doctor-patient interactions and expectations, the influence of social media, and dr. Google, and the sorry state of some people's interactions and behaviors.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Our live talk session from May 12 is now available on-demand with guests Jill Sisco, president of the Acromegaly Community, and Sharmyn McGraw from the Pacific Neuroscience Institute.  This was a fascinating perspective on the challenges and opportunities for patient advocacy programs with two of the leading patient advocates in the world of pituitary disease, specifically Cushing's and acromegaly.  We talked about the voice of the patient initiatives, support groups, unmet needs, access to medication, and new initiatives to participate in making life better for people dealing with pituitary disease.  Don't miss it, and join us next Thursday for another Live Talk session!

A highly informational "live-talk" session from Dr. Blevins.  The first segment covers the indications for pituitary surgery for patients with pituitary adenomas.  In the second half of the program, he discusses critical information for patients with Central Adrenal Insufficiency due to hypothalamic or pituitary disease.  Some of this information is applicable to those who have primary adrenal insufficiency, which occurs when the adrenal glands are removed.

If you missed our live broadcast of Pituitary World News's new radio-style call-in show, here's your chance to listen to the recording. In session three, we cover the many possible complications from pituitary surgery in terms of pituitary function and the anatomy around the gland. This is a comprehensive review of potential consequences that all pituitary patients, whether they have had, or are about to have surgery, should know and discuss with their surgeons. The second part of the session offers a fascinating discussion of symptoms and signs of pituitary disease and hormone deficiencies. Finally, Dr. Blevins will discuss a few cases of nonspecific symptoms and signs of pituitary disorders and how, on occasion, those have proven to be due to something unrelated to pituitary disorders.

In our second Live Talk session, Dr. Lewis Blevins discusses the normal ranges of endocrine lab tests and shares examples from his pituitary practice. Also,  our guest this week, Pat Gildroy, who manages the Diabetes Insipidus Facebook group, Got DI, joins us for a fascinating discussion about this condition.

In the first Pituitary World News LIVE TALK radio-style program, our guest Dr. Manish Aghi discusses the many facets of headaches and pituitary tumors. If you missed the live broadcast, here is the show's podcast. Tune in to LIVE TALK every Thursday from 3:00 pm PST - 6:00 pm EST for the opportunity to call in and participate in these live conversations with pituitary experts and stakeholders. For more information on LIVE TALK and how to join the studio every week, visit pituitaryworldnews.org.

In this podcast oriented to physicians, Dr. Lewis Blevins talks about a case of a patient with a pituitary lesion called a hemangiopericytoma invasive in the right cavernous sinus. Although the content is technical, patients and other interested parties may find the discussion interesting.

In today's podcast directed to physicians, PWN co-founder Dr. Lewis Blevins discusses the drug Recorlev® (levoketoconazole) recently approved by the FDA to treat endogenous Cushing's Syndrome. While this podcast contains medical and technical terminology, we encourage patients to listen to it and discuss it with their physicians.

To launch the eighth season of the Pituitary World News podcast, we welcome to our microphones, Brandy. Brandy has quite a story to tell us about her battle with Cushing’s disease and her diagnosis. Brandy is an American Sign Language (ASL) professional interpreter and an accomplished artist, blogger, and musician.  We caught up with Brandy a few days before the Holidays to chat about her experiences in what proved to be a very interesting chat.

In this podcast directed to physicians, Dr. Lewis Blevins shares his vast experience of 30 years treating patients with central hypothyroidism.

In the last podcast in the series on the drugs available to manage hypercortisolism, Dr. Blevins discusses mifepristone, trade name Korlym®.

This is the fourth podcast in a series of five on medications to treat Cushing’s disease.  Today Dr. Blevins discusses Pasireotide, trade names Signifor and Signifor LAR.

Our third podcast in the series is on osilodrostat (trade name Isturisa®), a drug approved by the FDA in the US and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to treat hypercortisolism in patients who are not candidates for surgery or those that surgery did not work.  In this podcast, Dr. BLevins takes us inside his clinical practice to share his experiences with the drug.

The second podcast in our series on the medical management of hypercortisolism focuses on the drug metyrapone. Dr. Blevins discusses the drug uses, how it works, and its side effects.  Coming up next, a discussion on the drug Isturiza® (osilodrostat).

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.

members of the acromegaly community to discuss their treatment journeys and the lessons they learned along the way, including how they advocate for themselves and how their experiences can help others do the same.

A discussion of acromegaly and what to do with medical treatment during pregnancy and the options available today.

Rachael Clare was diagnosed with a pituitary macroadenoma at age 21.  Now at 28, in a frank and revealing chat, she shares her experiences and struggles with diagnosis and living with hypopituitarism. Her blog, The Mass and Me, gives us an honest look at her story to help bring more awareness to the challenges of this disease.

Our section for physicians and health care professionals launches today with a podcast by Dr. Lewis Blevins that discusses ten fascinating cases of patients with hypercortisolism. We hope this section will serve as a platform to share important information, which we hope will lead to a broader understanding of pituitary disease. We invite you to comment and provide feedback to share the teaching points that this type of involvement can provide to the awareness and treatment of a disease. Stay tuned for much more from Dr. Blevins and colleagues. We encourage you to contact us to share interesting cases and information.

How is the emerging knowledge of hypercortisolism influencing how Cushing's disease and syndrome are understood and affecting the practice and those working on the front lines doing the work and caring for patients?  In this podcast, Michael Evans, Director, Commercial Insights, Learning and Development at Corcept Therapeutics, and Lewis Blevins, M.D., Medical Director of the Californian Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF and Pituitary World News Co-founder, consider the timeline and evolution of our understanding of the disease as the last ten years, has had a significant impact and brings a new set of challenges to suspect and recognize these conditions earlier.

At Pituitary World News we are committed, some would say obsessed, with the need to reduce the time it takes to diagnose pituitary disease. This podcast offers a candid discussion about this and many issues of importance to people dealing with pituitary disease. We caught up with Spanish endocrinologist Dr. Javier Salvador, professor at the Universidad de Navarra last year in Bilbao, Spain. This is our chat. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Today, a brief informal discussion of Cushing's disease issues from cases, articles, and experiences with his patients.

We recently had a chance to sit down with Chiasma Inc.’s Senior VP of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs, Dr. Bill Ludlam, to discuss his career and his work in rare diseases. Dr. Ludlam played an integral role in Chiasma’s acquisition of the first and only FDA approval for oral somatostatin analog (SSA) octreotide, called MYCAPSSA. We discussed the influences that drive Chiasma as an organization and Dr. Ludlam personally, as well as the processes that contributed to the development of MYCAPSSA. Don’t miss this engaging conversation.

A compelling, detailed account of a pituitary patient’s experience with COVID-19 everyone should listen.  As the virus takes hold in what is undoubtedly the worst phase of this pandemic, we urge you to follow all the guidelines provided by the health authorities:  wash your hands often, wear a mask when you are around other people, avoid crowds, and maintain the appropriate distance.

Not surprisingly, COVID-19 appears to have significantly impacted pituitary patients' access to healthcare.  Our brief survey elicited information from respondents on their experiences and attitudes towards obtaining healthcare via telemedicine.  Dr. Blevins shares the findings in this enlightening podcast.

From the J D Faccinetti, co-founder - We recently caught up with Crinetics Pharmaceuticals chairman Dr. Scott Struthers to discuss the latest on their new drugs currently under development. We wondered how this critically important work for pituitary patients was affected by the pandemic. Dr. Struthers gives us an "insider's view" of their work and an update on the progress in the development of these new medications for acromegaly, neuroendocrine tumors, congenital hyperinsulinism, Cushing's disease, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and more. Don't miss this fascinating discussion. Click here to learn more about how you may be able to participate. For more in-depth information on this subject, listen to our podcasts series on new drug development, "The Journey to a New Drug."

In this eye-opening podcast, Dr. Lewis Blevins takes an in-depth look at the science of interpreting pituitary lab results and shares some of the things physicians think about when viewing results. Here's an excerpt of his talk: " There are lots of caveats that come into play when interpreting these results and making treatment decisions. Many of these caveats are not well understood by even seasoned general physicians and they are rather difficult.  You, most likely, will not find these answers on the internet, so hopefully, this podcast will help you understand your test results, and have more appropriate and meaningful conversations with your physician at the time of the visit."

A fascinating discussion of two patients with residual pituitary tumors and their unpredictable differences; one stable for nine years after surgery; the other one grows back in five months bigger than the original.

From Lewis S Blevins Jr. M.D. - Co-founder - Our "Musings" series begins with reflections and thoughts on Telemedicine.  This subject is front and center in many people's minds mostly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this podcast, Dr. Blevins muses about telemedicine, how his practice has adapted, his views on pros and cons, and how things may change in the future.

With the upcoming WAPO Summit slated for this October 3, we thought we'd give our audience around the world more information about the Summit and the organization itself.  This podcast will give you a rundown on WAPO's mission, how it came to being, and plans for the future.  And if you haven't done so yet, you can register to participate in the global summit here.  To register in Spanish click here.

Today our subject is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and the effects they can have on the pituitary gland and endocrine system. Joining Dr. Blevins and I is Dr. Kevin Yuen, a world-renowned endocrinologist, and PWN contributor. Many studies have shown that a high percentage of patients who suffer mild, moderate, or severe TBI's can have some form of pituitary dysfunction. Each year in the US, about 2.5 million children and adults, including professional athletes and war veterans suffer a TBI caused by either a blow to the head, penetrating head injury, or repeated jolts to the head, according to the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC). And more than 5.3 million Americans are currently living with a lifelong disability due to TBI.

Dr. Manel Puig Domingo, a leading endocrinologist in Barcelona, is doing important work on facial recognition and biometrics to see if this technology is useful in recognizing the early physical changes that occur in Acromegaly.   Could this be a game-changer in the early diagnosis of the disease?  We certainly hope so. We have been fascinated by the possibilities of this technology.  Here’s our discussion with Dr. Puig (pronounced “Pooch” in Catalán), about his work and goals for this project

Our 7th podcast in the series  "The Journey to a New Drug," dives into the regulatory environment with Crinetics Pharmaceuticals regulatory affairs team, Senior Director Michael Monahan, and Operations Manager Debbie Koh Mendez. Crinetics is developing several new oral drugs for Acromegaly and Cushing's.  This podcast is an engaging talk rich with information from two extremely experienced executives. They give us a thorough insiders look at their work with regulatory agencies in the US and Europe. And, given the current issues with COVID-19 vaccine and therapy development, this podcast offers a very educational, timely discussion.  So if you want to learn more about the regulations for the approval of new drugs this is your chance. Toward the end of the podcasts, don't miss a great discussion on the latest trend in patient involvement and seeking patient insight in the regulatory environment.

In this podcast, Dr.  Blevins dives into those clinical features of Acromegaly with a fascinating discussion about symptoms and signs and gives us an unfettered glimpse into the complexities that invariably lead to delays in diagnosis.  Please listen to the podcast at the end of which there is a brief survey.

In this engaging podcast about the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome, Pituitary Worlds News co-founder and Medical Director, California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSFProfessor of Clinical Medicine and Clinical Neurological Surgery, Dr. Lewis Blevins shares a case to illustrate the complexities of diagnosing Cushing's syndrome.  He focuses on the evaluation of patients with hypercortisolism and applying the salivary cortisol profile.

We caught up with Dr. Kevin Yuen, medical director of the Barrow Pituitary Center and the Barrow Neuroendocrinology Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, and  Dr. Lewis Blevins Medical Director of the California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF  and PWN cofounder to discuss important information for pituitary patients regarding COVID-19. Listen to the podcast and learn: about the types of pituitary patients that are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection; why and how acromegaly and Cushing's patients are prone to develop diabetes and what they should do if faced with a COVID-19 infection; the increased risk of infection of patients with adrenal insufficiency and Cushing's and how to stress dose if they develop symptoms. why do active Cushing's syndrome patients need to be aware of the additional treatment steps that are essential to reduce susceptibility to COVID-19. what should you do if you suspect infection by COVID-19?  And what steps are needed in case of being quarantined at home? what specific signs or symptoms you need to look out for to monitor for progress or deterioration while being quarantined?  And what should you do if you feel you need to seek help? Don't miss this extremely informative podcast and please send us your comments through our social media channels, on our website or email to info@pituitaryworldnews.com

In this timely podcast Dr. Lewis Blevins, PWN co-founder, and Medical Director, California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF Professor of Clinical Medicine and Clinical Neurological Surgery, provides an in-depth discussion of viral infections specifically for people with pituitary disease.

Dr. Alan Krasner, Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Chris Cook, Medical Director, Endocrinology at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals offer an in-depth look at clinical studies.  In this podcast, we cover a promising molecule - CRNOO808 - under development for acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumors (NET's), and another hopeful new drug for pediatric congenital hyperinsulinism.  They talked about the challenges, their hopes for new therapeutic strategies, the complexities of their work, and how patients can get involved with industry and government regulators to improve these drugs and therapies.   Click here to listen to more podcasts.

From Jorge Faccinetti and Lewis Blevins, M.D. - In today's podcasts, I ask Dr. Lewis Blevins, PWN co-founder and Medical Director, California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Clinical Neurological Surgery, about his views on the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We discuss the current situation from a physician's perspective of what could be a very worrisome global situation.

Today we continue our series on new drug development – “the journey to a new drug.” This is a captivating conversation with Dr. Stacy Markison - who is Crinetics senior director of Pharmacology and Toxicology - about the science of discovery and the work that goes into making sure a compound is safe for human studies and does what it’s supposed to do.

In today's podcast, we highlight a new company dedicated to the rare endocrine disease world.  Tiburio Therapeutics is working on two exciting compounds for the treatment of Non-functioning Pituitary Adenomas and rare endocrine disorders. Last week Dr. Blevins and I caught up with Abe Ceesay, Tiburio CEO and Nerissa Kreher M.D., Chief Medical Officer, both highly experienced professionals in the rare endocrine space. We had a fascinating talk about their plans in this area of extensive need for patients. Here’s our talk.

This podcast, the fourth in our drug development series “the journey to a new drug,” brings you my conversation with Dr. Stephen Betz, cofounder at Crinetics Pharmaceutical. Our discussion spotlights new drugs for acromegaly, Cushing’s, and pediatric hyperinsulinism, currently under development at Crinetics. It includes a fascinating talk on molecules and how they work with cell receptors to eventually provide a launching pad for new drugs. We hope this podcast will serve up a better understanding of the many steps required to find and bring new medications and therapies to patients.

The third podcast in our series on drug development touches on the effort that industry is making to partner with patients to understand needs, preferences, and attitudes, and to develop insights that would result in better drugs and therapeutic experiences. In our conversation with Stephanie Kallay, Crinetics Director of Patient Advocacy, we discuss their effort to, as Stephanie put it, give the patient a place at the table. We talked about listening to the voice of the patient, the opportunities and challenges of engaging patients and the efforts that the industry is making to include their perspectives in everything they do.

The second podcast in our continuing series on drug development focuses on the commercial and business aspects of getting a growing company ready for a new drug. Today we talk with Gina Ford, Crinetics’ Vice president of Corporate Strategy and Commercial Planning, about the challenges and opportunities as these new potential medications move through the development pipeline.

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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.