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

PNA Spotlight: Dr. Brian Williams

This month the PNA Spotlight focuses on Dr. Brian Williams, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Louisville, where he leads the Division of Neurosurgical Oncology, Skull Base Surgery and Pituitary Surgery. Dr. Williams earned his medical degree from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He did a residency in neurological surgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, followed by a fellowship in Neurosurgical Oncology at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston. He also pursued specialty training in cerebrovascular and skull base surgery at the Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand. He was kind enough to answer some questions from the PNA. His answers are below

News Articles June 2025

News Articles June 2025

New imaging tool to diagnose Cushing’s?

An article in Cushing’s Disease News looks at a study that find that a new form of PET scan, alongside a CT scans can detect tumors that produce ACTH, common in Cushing’s disease. Read more:

https://cushingsdiseasenews.com/news/imaging-technique-found-accurately-id-cushings-pituitary-tumors/

Exercise and hormonal health

An article in mindbodygreen.com examines the effect of exercise on your hormones. Read more: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/how-high-intensity-exercise-impacts-cortisol-and-other-hormones

Pituitary patient describes afterlife following near-death experience

A story on MSN.com relates the experiences of Brianna Lafferty, a pituitary patient who was clinically dead for 8 minutes. She now works as a transition guide. Read more here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/woman-who-died-for-8-minutes-claims-death-is-an-illusion-as-she-recalls-afterlife/ar-AA1FuWo5

Pituitary Tumors

Effect of antineoplastic drug therapies on carcinoma and aggressive pituitary tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cardoso ABR, Zimmermann AC, Raverot G, Nunes-Nogueira VDS.Pituitary. 2025 Jun 2;28(3):70. doi: 10.1007/s11102-025-01541-0.

Impulse control disorders in pituitary adenoma: What do we know and what we still don’t know in almost two decades?

Kadioglu P, Glezer A.Pituitary. 2025 Jun 2;28(3):71. doi: 10.1007/s11102-025-01533-0.

Effect of antineoplastic drug therapies on carcinoma and aggressive pituitary tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cardoso ABR, Zimmermann AC, Raverot G, Nunes-Nogueira VDS.Pituitary. 2025 Jun 2;28(3):70. doi: 10.1007/s11102-025-01541-0.

Impulse control disorders in pituitary adenoma: What do we know and what we still don’t know in almost two decades?

Kadioglu P, Glezer A.Pituitary. 2025 Jun 2;28(3):71. doi: 10.1007/s11102-025-01533-0.

Clinico-pathological and molecular characteristics of pediatric-juvenile pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs): A mono-institutional series.

Buccoliero AM, Giunti L, Ponticelli A, Innocenti L, Ricci F, Cetica V, Tirinnanzi B, Moscardi S, Stagi S, Sardi I, Mussa F, Genitori L, Scagnet M.Clin Neuropathol. 2025 Jun 2. doi: 10.5414/NP301685. Online ahead of print.

Pituitary Surgery

Use of a Septal Stapler to Secure a Septal Free Mucosal Graft to the Nasoseptal Flap Donor Site Following Endoscopic Endonasal Resection of a Pituitary Adenoma.

Miller JE, Fischer JL, Wang MB.J Neurol Surg Rep. 2025 Apr 23;86(2):e98. doi: 10.1055/a-2531-6140. eCollection 2025 Apr.

Hormonal health

The effect of MDMA on anterior pituitary hormones: a secondary analysis of a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Atila C, Camerin SJ, Liechti ME, Christ-Crain M.Endocr Connect. 2025 Jun 1:EC-25-0254. doi: 10.1530/EC-25-0254. Online ahead of print.

Combined pituitary hormone deficiency with a novel GLI2 frameshift variant.

Matsuo Y, Adachi N, Mukai T, Kato S, Kato M, Tanaka H.Pediatr Int. 2025 Jan-Dec;67(1):e70082. doi: 10.1111/ped.70082.PMID: 40457737 No abstract available.

Effect of pubertal induction with combined gonadotropin therapy on testes development and spermatogenesis in males with gonadotropin deficiency: a cohort study.

Castro S, Ng Yin K, d’Aniello F, Alexander EC, Connolly E, Hughes C, Martin L, Prasad R, Storr HL, Willemsen RH, Dunkel L, Butler G, Howard SR.Hum Reprod Open. 2025 May 13;2025(2):hoaf026. doi: 10.1093/hropen/hoaf026. eCollection 2025.

Long-term pituitary function following transsphenoidal surgery for non-functional pituitary neuroendocrine tumor with apoplexy: a single-center retrospective analysis.

Zou D, Yang Y, Gao R, Ou Y, Luo J, Zhang Z, Yang T, Cheng J.Sci Rep. 2025 Jun 1;15(1):19226. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-03053-0.

Safety and efficacy of endoscopic vs. microscopic approaches in pituitary adenoma surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Al-Dardery NM, Khaity A, Soliman Y, Ali MOM, Zedan EM, Muyasarah K, Elfakhrany MD.Neurosurg Rev. 2025 Jun 1;48(1):471. doi: 10.1007/s10143-025-03600-3.

Hormonal Health

The effect of MDMA on anterior pituitary hormones: a secondary analysis of a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Atila C, Camerin SJ, Liechti ME, Christ-Crain M.Endocr Connect. 2025 Jun 1:EC-25-0254. doi: 10.1530/EC-25-0254. Online ahead of print.

Combined pituitary hormone deficiency with a novel GLI2 frameshift variant.

Matsuo Y, Adachi N, Mukai T, Kato S, Kato M, Tanaka H.Pediatr Int. 2025 Jan-Dec;67(1):e70082. doi: 10.1111/ped.70082.