Australian Pituitary Foundation

What is the Australian Pituitary Foundation?

Through their website and other wide ranging activities, the Australian Pituitary Foundation (APF) aims to provide support and information for people with pituitary conditions, their families, healthcare professionals and the public.

The pituitary gland is a small gland located at the base of the brain. It has a vital role in controlling the body's endocrine (hormone) glands. Changes and abnormalities in the pituitary gland can spark a range of disorders, many with serious health consequences including:

Acromegaly
Cushing's Syndrome
Prolactinoma
Craniopharyngioma & Rathke's cleft cyst

Vision and Mission

The Vision

Through our website and our other wide ranging activities, the APF aims to provide support and information for people with pituitary conditions, their families, healthcare professionals and the public.

The Mission

The APF's objectives are to:

Provide a forum for the exchange of information and ideas and for the discussion of problems related to pituitary disorders
Promote public awareness of pituitary disorders and the need for government support
Act as a resource group providing support and disseminating information
Encourage scientific research for the prevention, alleviation, care, treatment and cure of pituitary disorders.

APF Programs and Services

Healthcare Professionals

The APF is supported by Australia's leading endocrinologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists and endocrine nurses - who provide articles for APF's newsletters and contribute to patient information seminars. The Foundation takes the opportunity to present at health professionals conferences and symposiums on the patient perspective of living with pituitary disease. In turn, the APF supports medical education and research - but do not provide specific medical advice.

Support Groups

The APF has developed extensive links with Australian and overseas endocrine patient support groups. This allows rapid access to the latest knowledge about disorders and treatments. It also creates a strong and united political position to inform governments about the requirements of patients with pituitary disorders. Contact your state representative for details.

Lobbying

The APF has successfully lobbied to increase the availability of pituitary medications - in particular, to include Sandostatin LAR on the list of medications funded through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1998. More recently, the APF has campaigned for PBS funding of Growth Hormone (GH) for severely GH-deficient adults.

Pituitary Awareness

The APF stages the annual Pituitary Awareness Week during which a seminar day is run in all states to promote public and media awareness of the needs of pituitary patients and we intend to increase our educational resources available to pituitary patients, their families and carers.