Oxytocin
From Lewis Blevins. MD I’ve been asked on at least two occasions to comment on oxytocin in patients with hypothalamic and pituitary disorders. Oxytocin is a fascinating hormone made by the hypothalamus. It is stored
Author: J D Faccinetti
Posts by J D Faccinetti
Tests of Pituitary Function: Adrenal Insufficiency.
From Lewis Blevins, MD – The pituitary gland secretes ACTH that in turn drives cortisol production by the adrenal glands. ACTH secretion is determined by ambient cortisol levels, which inhibit ACTH production and secretion, and
Tests of Pituitary Function: Cushing’s syndrome
From Lewis Blevins, MD – Photo of Dr. Lewis Blevins – Cortisol is a stress hormone. Thus, physical or psychic stress can elevate cortisol levels in normal persons. Depression and alcoholism can elevate cortisol
What constitutes a normal test result?
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. What constitutes a normal test result? In most endocrine assays, it is a population of supposedly normal individuals that defines the upper and lower limits of normal. Take the mean, and
From Pituitary World News co-founder, J D Faccinetti
My Story. I was diagnosed with Acromegaly in October 2010. My condition, like many, if not most, of the stories I read and hear about, was missed for many years. In my case, doctors estimated
The Hypothalamus
From Lewis Blevins, MD – Image from UPMC – The hypothalamus is recognized as the part of the brain that surrounds the third ventricle. It contains the cell bodies of neurons that release hypothalamic hormones
Drugs that may affect your thyroid hormone dose.
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Patient’s with pituitary and thyroid disorders may be required to make adjustments in thyroid hormone dosages since their glands cannot work together to make those adjustments in certain situations that
Afternoon in Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe
photography by J D Faccinetti
Tests of Pituitary Function: Thyroid
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is produced by the pituitary gland and leads to the secretion of T4 and T3 by the thyroid gland. Most circulating T3 is driveed from the peripheral
Tests of Pituitary Function: GH Deficiency
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Growth Hormone levels, by themselves, are not a good indicator of GH sufficiency. Levels are undetectable 50% of the time during the day in normal persons. Thus, when a diagnosis
Steroid dose equivalents
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. There is a lot of confusion as to what constitutes a replacement dose of a steroid hormone for patients with hypopituitarism. The textbooks are wrong and, if we took doses they
Tests of pituitary function: acromegaly
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Growth Hormone is secreted in pulses, usually 9-12 per 24-hour period, and most of these occur at night while we are sleeping. In normal adults, growth hormone levels are undetectable 50%