“Your body holds deep wisdom. Trust in it. Learn from it. Nourish it. Watch your life transform and be healthy.”

– Bella Bleue 

PNA Spotlight: Dr. Yuval Eisenberg

This month the PNA Spotlight shines on Dr. Yuval Eisenberg.  Dr. Eisenberg graduated from Rush Medical College at Rush University Medical Center in 2009. He works in Chicago, IL and two other locations and specializes in internal medicine as well as endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism.    Dr. Eisenberg is also affiliated with the University of Illinois Hospital Health & Science Center.  He was kind enough to answer some of our questions:

 

What inspired you to choose your career path?

My career path was guided by my interaction with patients and my mentors. The highlight of my medical school training was helping to diagnose a young man suffering from multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), a rare genetic disorder causing multiple tumors, including a pituitary adenoma. Listening to his concerns and thinking outside the box, I helped provide him with the correct diagnosis and treatment plan – and started my journey into endocrinology. I have been fortunate to work with excellent clinician-educators in my career. Learning about and observing the care of patients with endocrine-related problems was fascinating and rewarding. The farther I got in my training, the more I realized that endocrinology was my passion and that patients with pituitary disorders would be my sub-focus. Patients with pituitary disease are a unique population who are in need of education, support and reassurance at diagnosis – and they often require long-term follow-up. This allows for time to develop a bond of trust; an aspect of medical practice I thoroughly enjoy.

Read More Here

 

Safeguarding the nose during pituitary tumor surgery

Pituitary tumors are typically removed through the nose during endoscopic transnasal transsphenoidal surgery. Although minimally invasive, that approach requires expertise to minimize surgical trauma to the nose. Fortunately, surgeons are using new techniques that help safeguard the nose and maximize patients’ quality of life after surgery.

“The tendency now is to be less invasive in the approach through the nose,” explains Dr. Carlos D. Pinheiro Neto, a Mayo Clinic ENT/head and neck surgeon. “A very aggressive approach can cause chronic nasal crusting and infections, scabbing, decreased sense of smell and taste, and changes in the nose’s appearance.”

In endoscopic transnasal transsphenoidal surgery, a small surgical camera and surgical instruments are placed through the nostrils to access the tumor through the sinuses. Mayo Clinic was among the first institutions to extensively research the approach. As initially developed, the procedure involved extensive nasal resection.

“The idea was to create a maximum opening of the sinuses to allow neurosurgeons to reach and remove the tumor from the skull base,” Dr. Pinheiro Neto says. “The nasal physiology and sinus symptoms after the surgery were not a priority — the nose was just a corridor to the tumor.”

Now, Dr. Pinheiro Neto is pioneering surgical techniques that minimize resection of the nasal and sinus structures. One involves leaving intact the middle turbinate, which plays important roles in nasal airflow, warming and filtering air to the lungs, and smelling. Another is using a nasal-floor graft to provide a seal between the nose and brain after tumor removal. The standard procedure when cerebrospinal fluid leaks during surgery involves a nasal septal flap created from the septum — the tissue that separates the nostrils’ two airways.

“Nasal graft is much better for patients. It avoids the exposure of the nasal septum cartilage, so there is less crusting and faster healing,” Dr. Pinheiro-Neto says. “Nasal septal flaps can also cause a structural collapse in the nasal bridge and increase the risk of septal perforations. Since changing our paradigm from nasal septal flap for pituitary surgery, our leak rate is 0.1%.”

The new techniques are based on research conducted in Mayo Clinic’s anatomy laboratory. Those lessons are translated to the operating room, where ENT/head and neck surgeons routinely work alongside neurosurgeons to remove pituitary tumors.

“That research has allowed us to achieve the same level of tumor resection and treatment outcomes, but with fewer complications,” Dr. Pinheiro-Nato says. “With time and experience, we have realized it’s possible to preserve most of the nose and still get good space in the back of the sinus for tumor removal.

“This is about improving patients’ quality of life,” Dr. Pinheiro-Neto says. “They can have a nasal procedure but after a few weeks of healing, the nose and nasal physiology, and the sinuses, are as good as ever before.”

Stanford Hosts Pituitary Patient Education Day

Stanford University invites the public to their free pituitary patient education day, to be held both in-person and via zoom on Saturday November 9th, 2024. The event will run from 8am-5pm and will take place in the Assembly Hall at Stanford Hospital.

The course co-directors include neurosurgeon Juan C. Fernandez-Miranda, MD (a longtime member of the PNA), and endocrinologist Julia Chang, MD. Topics to be discussed include the function of the pituitary gland, endonasal endoscopic surgery, cavernous sinus surgery, radiotherapy, Cushing’s, acromegaly, prolactinoma and more.

Click To Sign Up Here

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.

 

Count on your Xeris CareConnection™ Team for unparalleled Cushing’s Support

Cushing’s can be challenging, but there is support so patients can feel like themselves again. The main goal of treating Cushing’s is to get cortisol levels back to normal. This Pituitary Awareness Month, Xeris Pharmaceuticals® is highlighting the importance of one-on-one support for patients living with Cushing’s Syndrome and support for HCPs treating Cushing’s Syndrome.

Sign up to get dedicated support:

Patients: Sign up for support | Recorlev® (levoketoconazole)

HCP’s: Connect with Xeris support | RECORLEV® (levoketoconazole)

Have more questions? Call for more support at 1-844-444-RCLV (7258)

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