PNA Highlights August 2023 | Pituitary Network Association - International non-profit organization for patients with pituitary tumors and disorders

PNA Spotlight: Dr. Kevin Lillehei

This month the PNA Spotlight focuses on Dr. Kevin Lillehei, Chair of Neurosurgery at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Medicine, where he directs the Pituitary Tumor Division and the Surgical Neuro-oncology Fellowship. He is also a member of the PNA Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Lillehei earned his B.S. at Cornell University in New York, and his medical degree at the University of Minnesota. He did an internship and his residency at the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers Program. He was kind enough to answer a few questions from the PNA. His answers follow.

PNA Medical Corner: Pituitary Adenoma and Stereotactic Radiosurgery

This month the PNA Medical Corner showcases an article in the journal Neurosurgery co-authored by neurosurgeon Dr. Jason Sheehan at the University of Virginia Charlottesville, which looks at Nonfunctional Pituitary Adenoma Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery

News Articles October 2025

News Articles October 2025

When Cushing’s becomes cancer: metastasis or induced by radiation?

An article in Cushing’s Disease News looks at a study that examines the case of two women whose benign tumors associated with Cushing’s disease turned malignant. The question is whether they metastasized or if radiation could have induced the transformation. More info: https://cushingsdiseasenews.com/news/cushings-pituitary-tumors-rarely-aggressive-cancers/

Pituitary apoplexy: symptomatic vs asymptomatic

A study in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience looks at the clinical profile of patients with and without symptoms of pituitary apoplexy. Symptoms include “headache, vomiting and cranial nerve palsies.” People without symptoms who suffered pituitary apoplexy had lower white blood cell counts and lower blood sodium levels. Read more: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967586825005983

When a pituitary macroadenoma causes sepsis-like symptoms

A study on Cureus.com presents a case report where a woman was initially treated for sepsis but turned out to have a pituitary macroadenoma. Read more: https://assets.cureus.com/uploads/case_report/pdf/413034/20250912-112610-bm0ldk.pdf

Acute Sheehan’s Syndrome after post-partum pituitary hemorrhage

A case study presented on Cureus.com looks at the patient who gave birth, suffered a pituitary hemorrhage, and developed acute Sheehan’s Syndome and then pituitary atrophy eight months postpartum. Read more: https://assets.cureus.com/uploads/case_report/pdf/411201/20250914-401650-bm0ldk.pdf

October 2025 Research Articles

Pituitary tumors

A new and useful tool for differentiating prolactinomas from non-functioning pituitary adenomas: a pilot study of the cabergoline disconnection test.

Galliano SA, Stumpf MAM, Queiroz NL, Ferreira EHR, Craveiro FL, Gruetzmacher C, Silva GOD, Cescato VAS, Vellutini EAS, Cunha-Neto MBC, Batista RL, Glezer A.Einstein (Sao Paulo). 2025 Sep 15;23:eAO1694. doi: 10.31744/einstein_journal/2025AO1694. eCollection 2025.

The evolution and application of multi-omic analysis for pituitary neuroendocrine tumors.

Pugazenthi S, Pari SS, Zhang Z, Silverstein J, Kim AH, Patel B.Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Sep 1;12:1629621. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1629621. eCollection 2025.

Limitations of MRI in differentiating solid and cystic components of craniopharyngiomas.

Karaalioğlu B, Öksüz NÇ, İpek V, Çakır A, Kahraman O, Özbek MA.Childs Nerv Syst. 2025 Sep 16;41(1):281. doi: 10.1007/s00381-025-06941-y.

Idiopathic Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency With an Incidental Non-functional Pituitary Microadenoma in an Elderly Diabetic Woman.

Krishna MSV, Babu DVSP, Singh M, Madhavan S.Cureus. 2025 Aug 13;17(8):e89995. doi: 10.7759/cureus.89995. eCollection 2025 Aug.

Cushing’s Disease

Changing face of Cushing’s disease over three decades in pituitary center.

Muradov I, Sahin S, Uysal S, Sulu C, Gunebakan P, Tunc A, Kocaman BB, Soltanova L, Gazioglu N, Tanriover N, Kadioglu P.J Endocrinol Invest. 2025 Sep 16. doi: 10.1007/s40618-025-02702-5. Online ahead of print.

Editor’s note: Dr. Gazioglu is a member of the PNA.

Update on Medical Treatment of Cushing’s Syndrome.

Dillon BR, Agrawal N, Schwarz Y, Dancel-Manning K, Tabarin A, Lacroix A, Hofland LJ, Feelders RA.Drugs. 2025 Sep 15. doi: 10.1007/s40265-025-02223-8. Online ahead of print.

Acromegaly

Metabolic Factors Related to Interpersonal Dysfunction in Acromegaly: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study in China.

Tagilapalli SK, Wang Z, Lu YL, Zhang G, Su W, Wu Z, Wang J, Rao Q, Wang H, He D, Mou Y, Yao S, Tie Y, Chen W.CNS Neurosci Ther. 2025 Sep;31(9):e70607. doi: 10.1111/cns.70607.

Imaging

Trade-Off Analysis of Classical Machine Learning and Deep Learning Models for Robust Brain Tumor Detection: Benchmark Study.

Tian Y.JMIR AI. 2025 Sep 15;4:e76344. doi: 10.2196/76344.

Hormonal health

Idiopathic hyperprolactinemia-associated hypogonadism in men presenting with normal testosterone levels.

Cheng X, Xiao Y, Deng Y, Chen Q, Wen X, Zhou E, Zhou H.PLoS One. 2025 Sep 18;20(9):e0332871. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0332871. eCollection 2025.

Evaluation of thyrotrophic and lactotrophic reserves in patients with pituitary dwarfism with and without empty sella turcica.

Geremia C, Geremia F.J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Jul 21;38(9):904-914. doi: 10.1515/jpem-2025-0082. Print 2025 Sep 25.