The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness.

-Arthur Schopenhauer

 

PNA Spotlight: Dr. Adriana G. Ioachimescu

This month the PNA Spotlight focuses on Adriana G. Ioachimescu, MD, PhD, FACE Professor of Medicine (Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine) and Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, a lifetime professional member of the PNA.
Dr. Ioachimescu was a Professor of Medicine in Endocrinology and Neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Ioachimescu was also co-director and co-founder of the Emory Neuroendocrine Pituitary Center and a consulting editor at Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics. Previously she worked at Carol Davila University in Bucharest, Romania, and at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Ioachimescu was born in Bucharest, Romania and earned her PhD in Neuroendocrinology from Carol Davila University of Medicine. She completed an internship in internal medicine at Danbury Hospital and then a fellowship in Endocrinology at the Cleveland Clinic. She did residencies in internal medicine at Carol Davila University, Yale University and the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Ioachimescu was kind enough to respond to a few questions from the PNA:

PNA Medical Corner: Machine Learning and Pituitary Surgery

An article co-authored by multiple members of the PNA (Including Drs. Samson, Chaichana, and Quinones-Hinojosa) looks at the role of machine learning in forecasting outcomes of pituitary surgery. They conclude that it is not ready yet as no model achieved clinical applicability.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36979305/

Abstract

Background: The complex nature and heterogeneity involving pituitary surgery results have increased interest in machine learning (ML) applications for prediction of outcomes over the last decade. This study aims to systematically review the characteristics of ML models involving pituitary surgery outcome prediction and assess their reporting quality.

Methods: We searched the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge databases for publications on the use of ML to predict pituitary surgery outcomes.

Featured News and Updates

News Articles April 2025

Pituitary journey: woman learns to slow down while facing melanoma, pituitary inflammation

Blogger Amanda Goodwin is a hard-charging businesswoman, who was forced to slow down and “embrace the sick” as she battled melanoma in her lungs, liver and brain, and suffered from inflammation of the pituitary. Read more here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-156259244?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

 

Study: Cushing’s patients develop cataracts at younger ages

An article in Cushing’s Disease News examines a study published in Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, that finds that Cushing’s patients are at higher risk of developing cataracts at a younger age compared to non-Cushing’s patients.  They developed them at an average age of 48.1. Patients with Cushing’s Syndrome “being 34% more likely to develop cataracts than the general population. For those with Cushing’s disease, the risk was 39% higher.” Read more: https://cushingsdiseasenews.com/news/cushings-patients-higher-risk-developing-cataracts-younger-age/

 

Pituitary Journey: British celebrity astrologer recounts battle with pituitary tumor

Russell Grant, a celebrity astrologer in the U.K. who competed on the show “Strictly Come Dancing” recounts his battle with a pituitary tumor, diabetes, and now vision issues. Read more: https://tinyurl.com/44zujvkm

Houston Hospital gets $2 million in donations for pituitary research

Houston Methodist hospital announced it has commitments to receive 2 million dollars to support its Kenneth R. Peak Brain & Pituitary Treatment Center. $1.5 million comes from the Henry J.N. Taub Foundation and is paired with an anonymous $500,000 donation. Read more: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/houston-methodist-receives-1.5-million-for-brain-pituitary-research

Research Articles

April 2025 Research Articles

Pituitary Surgery

Indocyanine green fluorescence in endoscopic transsphenoidal resection of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors: a systematic review.

Olesrud I, Halvorsen IJ, Storaker MA, Heck A, Dahlberg D, Wiedmann MKH.Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2025 Mar 28;167(1):92. doi: 10.1007/s00701-025-06500-z.


Extended endoscopic endonasal approach for solid or predominantly solid third ventricle craniopharyngiomas complicated with obstructive hydrocephalus: a single-center experience of 27 patients.

Qiao N, Li C, Liu X, Song Y, Liang L, Zou Y, Lu P, Zhang Y, Gui S.Neurosurg Rev. 2025 Mar 26;48(1):325. doi: 10.1007/s10143-025-03486-1.

 

Transsphenoidal Surgery for Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumours (PiTNETs) in a Tertiary Hospital: Are There Differences Between Young and Elderly Patients?

Borrego-Soriano I, Parra-Ramírez P, Martín-Rojas-Marcos P, Pérez-López C, García-Feijoo P, Álvarez-Escolá C.Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2025 Mar 24. doi: 10.1111/cen.15242. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40129236

 

Pituitary Tumors


Fungal Sinusitis Spreading to the Sellar Region Mimicking a Pituitary Tumor: Case Report and Literature Review.

Pekic Djurdjevic S, Arsic Arsenijevic V.J Fungi (Basel). 2025 Mar 19;11(3):233. doi: 10.3390/jof11030233.

 

Functional Transformation of a Corticotroph Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumor 128 Months Following Primary Excision ? A Case Report.

Goyal-Honavar A, Abraham AP, Asha HS, Chacko G, Chacko AG.Turk Neurosurg. 2025;35(2):355-359. doi: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.44912-23.2

 

Genetic Characterization of Turkish Patients with Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors.

Alavanda C, Sonmez O, Geckinli BB, Bayrakli F, Guney AI.Turk Neurosurg. 2025;35(2):319-320. doi: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.45761-23.2.

 

 

Empty Sella

 

Relationship Between Radiological Features of Primary Empty or Primary Partial Empty Sella and Pituitary Hormone Levels.

Kałuża B, Furmanek M, Domański J, Żuk-Łapan A, Babula E, Poprawa I, Walecki J, Franek E.Biomedicines. 2025 Mar 15;13(3):722. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines13030722.

 

Acromegaly

 

Copeptin and Mid-Regional Proadrenomedullin Are Not Useful Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Disease in Patients with Acromegaly-A Preliminary Study.

Strzelec M, Kubicka E, Kuliczkowska-Płaksej J, Kolačkov K, Janek Ł, Bolanowski M, Jawiarczyk-Przybyłowska A.Biomedicines. 2025 Mar 8;13(3):666. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines13030666.

 

Hypopituitarism


Identification of POU1F1 Variants in Vietnamese Patients with Combined Pituitary Hormone Deficiency.

Nguyen HT, Nguyen KN, Dien TM, Can TBN, Nguyen TTN, Lien NTK, Tung NV, Xuan NT, Tao NT, Nguyen NL, Tran VK, Mai TTC, Tran VA, Nguyen HH, Vu CD.Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Mar 7;26(6):2406. doi: 10.3390/ijms26062406.


Hypopituitarism: genetic, developmental, and acquired etiologies with a focus on the emerging concept of autoimmune hypophysitis.

Bando H, Urai S, Kanie K, Yamamoto M.Endocr J. 2025 Mar 27. doi: 10.1507/endocrj.EJ25-0035. Online ahead of print.

 

Hormonal Health

A Novel Missense Variant in LHX4 in Three Children with Multiple Pituitary Hormone Deficiency Belonging to Two Unrelated Families and Contribution of Additional GLI2 and IGFR1 Variant.

Santoro C, Aiello F, Farina A, Miraglia Del Giudice E, Pascarella F, Licenziati MR, Improda N, Piluso G, Torella A, Del Vecchio Blanco F, Cirillo M, Nigro V, Grandone A.Children (Basel). 2025 Mar 14;12(3):364. doi: 10.3390/children12030364.

 

Hyperprolactinemia is associated with height attainment within or above target height in adult patients with pituitary stalk interruption syndrome.

Wang Y, Mao J, Wang X, Nie M, Zhang J, Zhang W, Liu H, Xu Z, Wu X.Endocr Pract. 2025 Mar 25:S1530-891X(25)00095-3. doi: 10.1016/j.eprac.2025.03.010. Online ahead of print.

 

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1 (MEN1) Syndrome Clinical Presentation and the Role of Newer Functional Imaging in the Diagnosis and Management: A Case Report.

Singh R, Goel SA, Singh JS, John DR, Suthar PP.Cureus. 2025 Feb 24;17(2):e79580. doi: 10.7759/cureus.79580. eCollection 2025 Feb.

 

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