The Pituitary World News Podcast

Can Artificial Intelligence make medical research easier to understand?  This AI-generated content (we hesitate to call it a traditional "podcast") was brought to our attention by one of Dr. Blevins' patients, who discovered it in a Facebook patient group. The creator used a well-known AI platform to analyze one of Dr. Blevins' recently published papers on PWN, translating the complex medical language into plain English with more a...

In today's podcast, Dr. Lewis Blevins discusses relacorilant, a drug currently in development by Corcept Therapeutics for the treatment of hypercortisolism. Clinical trials to date have shown encouraging results, with improvements in blood pressure, glucose control, weight, and body composition. Corcept Therapeutics specializes in developing drugs that modulate the glucocorticoid receptor.  

Stay tuned for the next Podcast on hyper...

This is a very informative discussion about the new indications of the  Cushing's Drug Isturisa® (osilodrostat) with Dr. Mario Maldonado, who heads global development for endocrinology at Recordati Rare Diseases.  The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the drug for endogenous hypercortisolism (excessive production of cortisol in the body).  If you want to learn more about this fascinating subject, Dr. Maldonado gives us...

CAM2029 represents a significant advance replacing cumbersome deep muscle injections with a user-friendly pen device similar to modern insulin and GLP-1 delivery systems. The practical benefits are remarkable: monthly administration, storage at room temperature, and no more traveling with cooling equipment. These improvements may seem incremental to outsiders, but for patients managing acrom...

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Leena Shahla to the Pituitary Podcast. She is the director of The Duke Pituitary Program. Today she joins PWN co-founder and medical director of the California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF, Dr. Lewis Blevins, for an in-depth discussion about pseudo-Cushing's syndrome.

In the Duke Health web portal, Dr. Shahla ...

In this podcast, Dr. Blevins reviews the side effects of dopamine agonist drugs. These are drugs that activate certain types of cells in the brain to regulate various functions, including hormone regulation, movement, and motivation. Dr. Blevins's discussion focuses on the drug cabergoline and its side effects, citing several research studies. This is a fascinating review of side effects you won't want to miss, even if you don't us...

Sometimes conversations take interesting turns and often lead to surprising and unexpected discussions. If you're a regular listener of the Pituitary Podcast, you may have caught a few of our live broadcasts where these unscripted discussion are common.

Today I'm joined by Risa August, a patient and advocate and a frequent guest sharing her work, adventures and advocacy efforts, for one of those engaging chats. In this podcast we e...

Today's podcast is about an important Chiesi Rare Diseases initiative to learn more about the psychological, social, and emotional health issues facing acromegaly patients.  We talked to Stuart Siedman, Chiesi's Vice President of advocacy.  Stuart has an extensive background in rare diseases and a personal connection as an advocate.  This is an important subject. We hope you will help by participating in the survey. 

Click here to ...

In today's podcast, we are excited to welcome Dr. Joanna Spencer-Segal, a research assistant professor at the Michigan Neuroscience Institute and an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes at the University of Michigan. She joins Dr. Lewis Blevins and me to discuss the promising new treatment options for acromegaly.

Our conversation delves into the latest thera...

I am pleased to welcome Dr. Scott Pescatore to the Pituitary Podcast.  In today's podcast, we discuss some of the work being done in the pituitary and adrenal space.  Dr. Pescatore's - and other industry leaders we've featured on the Pituitary Podcasts - opinions and points of view are essential to developing current and future therapies and potential new treatments affecting access to medications for pituitary disease.  By and lar...

Today's podcast features my chat with Dr. Mario Maldonado, Head of Development and Global Endocrinology atRecordati Rare Diseases.  Dr. Maldonado brings a wealth of experience and a great perspective on drug development. He was involved in developing both pasireotide and osilodrostat, two essential compounds used in drugs to treat Cushing's.   Listen to this fascinating talk with one of the most dynamic experts in endocrine drug de...

Mental health is an ongoing challenge for people dealing with Pituitary conditions, from brain fog to anxiety to downright depression. These and other emotional issues are some of the most talked about and commonly related when people talk about what it's like to live with one of these devastating conditions.  Today's podcast brings together two leading experts in mental health and pituitary disease for an in-depth round-table disc...

Today's podcast covers my conversation with Jill Sisco, president of the Acromegaly Community, about the recent meetings with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US governmental entity responsible for approving new medications.  Our conversation focuses on the original meeting held in 2021 and a recent listening session where the AC provided additional feedback to the FDA.  These meetings help ensure the FDA considers patie...

On today's podcast and  Cushing's awareness day and month, we bring you a few excerpts from our soon-to-be-released new book on Cushing's. The book's author and Pituitary World News cofounder, Dr. Lewis Blevins, reads from a few selected chapters to give insight into the book's content. We are delighted to present these excerpts to join the many organizations, patients, and healthcare professionals in recognizing Cushing's disease ...

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 pic...

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 ...

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 ...

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...