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 August 2026
Secretary of Defense concerned about low testosterone in the military
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is mandating testing of male troops over age 30 for low testosterone and will offer testosterone replacement therapy. Many endocrinologists say this approach is problematic. Read more: https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/07/hegseth-wants-a-high-t-military-doctors-call-it-a-clinical-minefield/
The Endocrine Society issue statement in the wake of Hegseth’s announcement:
Pituitary story: Lionel Messi
Soccer mega-star Lionel Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency as a child. Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-in/health/other/lionel-messi-overcame-growth-hormone-deficiency-as-a-child-a-condition-that-almost-derailed-his-football-dream/ar-AA280JJc
Vision issues in acromegaly
PNA member Dr. Maria Fleseriu is featured in an article in EverydayHealth.com about how acromegaly can affect a patient’s eyesight. Read more: https://www.everydayhealth.com/hormones-metabolic-disorders/how-acromegaly-can-affect-your-eyesight/
Delayed diagnosis of Cushing’s in Japanese children
An article in Cushing’s Disease News looks at a study that found Japanese children often face delays in diagnosis of Cushing’s disease, but many are successfully treated with surgery. Read more: https://cushingsdiseasenews.com/news/japanese-children-face-long-delays-cushings-disease-diagnosis/
Pituitary story: Idaho teen battles germinoma near pituitary gland
Delayed puberty and growth, combined with diabetes insipidus, led doctors to diagnose a 16-year-old boy from Idaho with a germ cell tumor near his pituitary gland. Read more: https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/blog/2026/07/college-bound-16-year-old-didnt-let-germinoma-get-him-down.html
Pituitary surgery story: Transsphenoidal surgery at Walter Reed
A story in the Times of India highlights the work of an Indian American pituitary surgeon at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland: Major Jagatkumar “J.” Patel, and his colleague Army neurosurgeon Lt. Col. Charles Miller. Read more: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/health/indian-american-army-surgeon-removes-golf-ball-sized-brain-tumour-through-a-patients-nose-avoiding-open-skull-surgery/amp_articleshow/132781973.cms
Experts play down the idea of “male menopause”
An article in the Kansas City Star explains that men do not experience a sharp drop-off in hormones in the same way women do; the process is more gradual. Read more: https://www.kansascity.com/living/article316673842.html
The same reporter looks at testosterone replacement therapy in an article in the Miami Herald: https://www.miamiherald.com/living/article316675898.html
Research Articles
Research Articles August 2026
Pituitary tumors
Ameen D, ElSabban Y, Kalaitzoglou D, Shapey J, Barazi S, Thomas N, Aylwin S, Maratos E.Endocrine. 2026 Aug 1;91(1):243. doi: 10.1007/s12020-026-04712-6.
Kasireddy HD, Sahu V, Sharma A, Kumar A, Shrivastava S.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2026 Aug 1;74(8):1185-1190. doi: 10.4103/IJO.IJO_215_26. Epub 2026 Jul 31.
Case report of two growth hormone-secreting invasive pituitary adenomas and literature review.
Zhou J, Wen J, Leng H, Yi J.Arch Med Sci. 2026 Jun 23;22(3):1926-1931. doi: 10.5114/aoms/224312. eCollection 2026.
Altunyuva O, Balcin N, Ocakoglu G, Taskapilioglu MO, Yilmazlar S.Turk Neurosurg. 2026;36(4):509-516. doi: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.49331-25.2.
Reyes JS, Hadjipanayis CG, Bernstein K, Speckter H, Gonzalez I, Chytka T, Liscak R, Bowden GN, Sumi T, Narita K, Kano H, Martínez-Moreno N, Martínez-Álvarez R, Picozzi P, Franzini A, Tripathi M, Rai A, Kumar N, Douri K, Mathieu D, Dono A, Amezquita-Contreras C, Blanco AI, Esquenazi Y, Tos SM, Mantziaris G, Peker S, Samanci Y, Duzkalir AH, Meng Y, Sheehan JP, Kondziolka D, Lunsford LD, Niranjan A.J Neurooncol. 2026 Jul 31;179(1):22. doi: 10.1007/s11060-026-05736-8.
Editor’s note: Dr. Sheehan is a member of the PNA.
Cushing’s
Annexin A1 as a diagnostic biomarker for cyclic Cushing disease.
Rao Z, Wu L, Jiang L, Su T, Cao Y, Lin S, He X, Ye Y, Ning G, Wang W, Zhang C.iScience. 2026 Jul 22;29(8):116907. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.116907. eCollection 2026 Aug 21.
Constanthin PE, Ferrière A, Sanchez-Gallardo F, Nunes ML, Berge J, Engelhardt J.J Neurosurg. 2026 Jul 31:1-9. doi: 10.3171/2026.2.JNS252331. Online ahead of print.
Detomas M, Prada Salcedo JP, Altieri B, Stüfchen I, Nasi-Kordhishti I, Wolfsberger S, Losa M, Quinkler M, Kimpel O, Vila G, Honegger JB, Rubinstein G, Fassnacht M, Deutschbein T.Eur J Endocrinol. 2026 Jul 31:lvag141. doi: 10.1093/ejendo/lvag141. Online ahead of print.
Acromegaly
Genc B, Polat SB, Koc A, Ersoy R.Pituitary. 2026 Jul 31;29(4):136. doi: 10.1007/s11102-026-01737-y.
Hormonal health
Holz EA, Imran M, Reyes N, Izquierdo-Pretel G.Cureus. 2026 Jun 30;18(6):e111830. doi: 10.7759/cureus.111830. eCollection 2026 Jun.
Alnahar S, Senjab A, Gharib S, Gharib Z, Hadid L.Clin Case Rep. 2026 Jul 29;14(8):e73261. doi: 10.1002/ccr3.73261. eCollection 2026 Aug.
A Novel LHX3 Variant Associated With Combined Pituitary Hormone Deficiency in an Indian Kindred.
Palaniappan S, Sridhar S, Thasarathan S, Shanmugam D, Dutta P.Cureus. 2026 Jun 29;18(6):e111778. doi: 10.7759/cureus.111778. eCollection 2026 Jun.
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