Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body
-Joseph Addison
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
Dr. Brian Williams
PNA Medical Corner: Otolaryngology Pioneers of Transsphenoidal Surgery
This month the PNA Medical Corner focuses on an article co-authored by Dr. Edward Laws, a longtime member of the PNA. The research looks at the considerable impact two early otolaryngologists, Markus Hajek and Oskar Hirsch, had in developing endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery.
Dr. Edward Laws
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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