Thirsty? For water? How about knowledge?
From Lewis S. Blevins, Jr. MD – Ever wondered why your sense of thirst and the control of your diabetes insipidus reflected by the degree of polyuria might seem disconnected? Well, it’s because they are!
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Diabetes Insipidus: Our survey report is in!
From Lewis S Blevins, Jr MD – One hundred ninety-eight persons completed our survey on diabetes insipidus. Approximately two-thirds of respondents reside in the United States whereas 14% live in Great Britain, 7% live in
Dr. Blevins reports from the California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF Annual Pituitary Update Conference
Here are a few highlights from the California Center for Pituitary Disorders at the University of California San Francisco, UCSF annual Pituitary Update Conference : Only 60% of patients with pituitary macroadenomas and vision loss have
Pituitary Surgery. Postoperative Followup.
From Lewis S Blevins, Jr. MD – All too often, I see patients who come to the clinic with devastating recurrences of their pituitary tumors. For example, the accompanying MRI depicts a recurrent pituitary tumor in
Diabetes insipidus: Polyuria.
Polyuria is defined as the passage of excessive quantities of urine. Pollakauria is defined as urinary frequency; in other words, more trips to the bathroom regardless of urine volume. Polyuria is arbitrarily defined as the
Tests of Pituitary Function: Prolactin
From Lewis Blevins, MD – Photo abstract blend – Prolactin is produced by the anterior pituitary gland. Its secretion is largely regulated by dopamine from the hypothalamus which inhibits prolactin production and release. TRH (which
Growth Hormone Deficiency
From Lewis Blevins, MD Introduction Growth Hormone is a peptide hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland. Growth hormone-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus stimulates it’s release while somatostatin from the hypothalamus inhibits GH. Somatostatin is
Diabetes Insipidus: A few clinical pearls
From Lewis Blevins. MD – Polyuria in the setting of thirst and increased water intake, with a dilute urine, and a high or high normal serum sodium (>141-142 mEq/L) is usually recognizable as DI. Some
Nonfunctional Pituitary Adenomas
From Lewis Blevins, MD – We really shouldn’t call them nonfunctional pituitary adenomas. They are living tissue and thus “functioning.” The term comes from the fact that they are not producing any hormones in excess
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