PNA Highlights September 2023

PNA Spotlight: Dr. Manish Aghi

This month the PNA Spotlight focuses on Dr. Manish K. Aghi.Dr. Manish Aghi is a neurosurgeon specializing in brain tumors at UCSF Medical Center. He cares for adult patients with a wide range of conditions, including astrocytomas and anaplastic astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, glioblastomas, meningiomas and pituitary adenomas. As principal investigator at the UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center, his interests include glioblastoma angiogenesis, mechanisms of glioblastoma resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy and experimental glioblastoma therapies such as cancer-killing viruses.
Professor Aghi earned his medical degree and a doctoral degree in neurosciences from Harvard Medical School. He completed a residency in neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a member of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and Pituitary Network Association. Among his honors are the Preuss and Mahaley awards from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the Ronald L. Bittner Award, Synthes Skull Base Award and Integra Foundation Award from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
His answers follow.

PNA Medical Corner: Pituitary Centers of Excellence

This month the PNA Medical Corner focuses on an article co-authored by several members and colleagues of the PNA: Drs. Chanson, Kaiser, Laws, van der Lely, and Melmed. It addresses a topic that PNA has sought to promote for decades: the designation of Pituitary Centers of Excellence, where patients can get highly specialized care

Pilot study to define criteria for Pituitary Tumors Centers of Excellence (PTCOE): results of an audit of leading international centers

News Articles February 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

Pituitary Tumors

Etiology, presentation, and outcomes of hyperprolactinemia due to pituitary masses in children and adolescents.

Kilci F, Sarikaya E, Murat NÖ, Deniz A.Endocrine. 2025 Feb 2. doi: 10.1007/s12020-025-04176-0. Online ahead of print.

Conservative medical therapy for a macroprolactinoma presenting with obstructive hydrocephalus.

Cuaño PMGM, Isip-Tan IT, Chan KIP.BMJ Case Rep. 2025 Jan 31;18(1):e261540. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2024-261540.

Individual management and prognostic assessment for long-term outcomes using a novel classification system of craniopharyngiomas: a retrospective study of single institution.

Zhang S, Xie B, He Y, Zhang X, Gong G, Li M, Chen Y, Tang G, Zhang C, Qin C, Liu Q.J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2025 Jan 31;151(2):57. doi: 10.1007/s00432-025-06104-1.

Mental Health and Pituitary Issues

Psychological burden in patients with sellar masses under conservative and surgical management.

Kalasauskas D, Ernst A, Mireri S, Keric N, Thavarajasingam SG, Omran W, Wüster C, Ringel F, Conrad J.Neurosurg Rev. 2025 Jan 30;48(1):104. doi: 10.1007/s10143-025-03240-7.

Social functioning longitudinal trajectory and its predictors in young and middle-aged postoperative pituitary tumor patients: A growth mixture model.

Zhou Y, Qian M, Wang S, Zhou X, Zhou M, Gu Z, Sun M, Yang T.Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2025 Jan 28;74:102815. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2025.102815. Online ahead of print.

Pituitary Surgery

Giant and irregular pituitary neuroendocrine tumors surgery: comparison of simultaneous combined endoscopic endonasal and transcranial and purely endoscopic endonasal surgery at a single center.

Fu J, Luo W, Zhang C, Wang Z, Fan W, Lin Y, Kang D, Song J, Jiang C, Yan X.Chin Neurosurg J. 2025 Feb 3;11(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s41016-025-00389-4.PMID: 39894800

Modified graded skull base reconstruction for intraoperative CSF leak repair in endoscopic endonasal surgeries: a single-surgeon experience in initial years of practice and nuances in the early learning curve.

Khaleghi M, Shahid AH, Suggala S, Dyess G, Hummel UN, Chason DN, Butler D, Thakur JD.Neurosurg Focus. 2025 Feb 1;58(2):E6. doi: 10.3171/2024.11.FOCUS24733.

Does the crafted abdominal fat grafting technique completely eliminate risk of postoperative CSF leak in endonasal pituitary surgery? Technical note and preliminary clinical outcome.

Lasica N, Lesha E, Beckfort NS, Arnautovic KI.Neurosurg Focus. 2025 Feb 1;58(2):E3. doi: 10.3171/2024.11.FOCUS24665.

Multicenter study on 2-year outcomes of dual application of hydroxyapatite cranioplasty and a nasoseptal flap following endoscopic endonasal surgery for tuberculum sellae meningiomas or craniopharyngiomas.

Kong DS, Kim YH, Hong SD, Ryu G, Kim JH, Hong CK, Kim YH.Neurosurg Focus. 2025 Feb 1;58(2):E2. doi: 10.3171/2024.11.FOCUS24624.

Risk Factors for Development of Diabetes Insipidus and Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion after Transsphenoidal Resection of Pituitary Adenoma.

Petito G, Hu A, Zhang G, Min S, Tripathi SH, Kumar A, Shukla G, Shah S, Phillips KM, Jana S, Forbes JA, Zuccarello M, Andaluz NO, Sedaghat AR.J Neurol Surg B Skull Base. 2024 Feb 2;86(1):39-45. doi: 10.1055/a-2235-7419. eCollection 2025 Feb.PMID: 39881750

Cushing’s

Performance of Vasopressin Stimulated Bilateral Inferior Petrosal Sinus Sampling in Corticotropin Dependent Cushing’s Syndrome with Negative or Equivocal 3 Tesla Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Pituitary.

Shivnani P, Kasliwal R, Goyal G, Sharma J, Balani U, Gupta P, Sharma BS, Yadav D, Mishra V, Sharma SK.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2024 Nov-Dec;28(6):589-595. doi: 10.4103/ijem.ijem_60_24. Epub 2024 Dec 30.

Hormonal health

The hypothalamus and pituitary gland regulate reproduction and are involved in the development of polycystic ovary syndrome.

Long BY, Liao X, Liang X.Neuroendocrinology. 2025 Jan 31:1-26. doi: 10.1159/000543877. Online ahead of print.

Cabergoline-induced NDFIP1 upregulation in pituitary neuroendocrine tumor cells activates mTOR signaling and contributes to cabergoline resistance.

Gu W, Zhang W, Wu Z, Cai Y.J Neurooncol. 2025 Feb 1. doi: 10.1007/s11060-025-04949-7. Online ahead of print.