Adrenal News

In July, the FDA continued its string of 2018 endocrinology approvals. Endocrine Today has compiled a list of the past month’s approvals, updates and submissions as well as a study evaluating the effects of the FDA’s “breakthrough” designation on patient care.

The FDA approved iobenguane I 131 for adults and children with iobenguane scan-positive, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma who require anticancer therapy.

Researchers from Stanford University have designed a wearable device that measures how much cortisol a person is producing through sweat, according to a press release from the university.

Among patients with secondary adrenal insufficiency, a 10-week treatment with a higher dose of hydrocortisone lowered the metabolism of tryptophan, mediating the effects of the drug on fatigue and physical functioning, according to findings from a double-blind crossover study.

BOSTON — Use of the antiangiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor cabozantinib, approved for treatment of medullary thyroid cancer and renal cell carcinoma, appears to be a safe and effective therapy for treating rare unresectable metastatic pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas, according to preliminary data from a phase 2 study presented here.

PoinT

Adults with adrenal insufficiency who experience adrenal emergencies have widely varying wait times for lifesaving glucocorticoid administration, despite a nationwide effort to improve patient and provider education, according to findings from a prospective study conducted in Germany.

Among patients with primary aldosteronism undergoing adrenal vein sampling, the administration of adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH, before the procedure reduced the incidence of apparent bilateral aldosterone suppression, improving the ability to diagnose disease subtype, according to findings from researchers in Japan.

CHICAGO — Testicular adrenal rest tumors are commonly found in boys with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and the diagnosis is often made before adulthood, according to a speaker here.

CHICAGO — Adrenal vein sampling is often touted as a “gold standard” method to select patients for the surgical management of primary aldosteronism; however, for many reasons, its superiority and accuracy is increasingly being challenged, as two experts highlighted during a debate here.