Adrenal hyperplasia refers to non-malignant growth (enlargement) of the adrenal glands.
Secondary adrenal cortical hyperplasia (i.e., ACTH-dependent, Cushing Disease) is more common and most often due to ACTH producing pituitary tumors. More rarely, it is caused by ACTH-producing small cell lung, medullary thyroid, or carcinoid tumors.
Primary cortical hyperplasia (i.e., ACTH-independent, Cushing syndrome) is much less common than secondary, with unilateral adrenal cortical adenomas being the commonest cause.
Approximately 20% of Conn syndrome cases are secondary to adrenal hyperplasia. In diffuse hyperplasia, the limbs of the adrenal glands are >5 cm in length and >10 mm in thickness. It may be unilateral in some situations 6.
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Images:
Pathology
Other causes include:
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inheritance
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congenital
acquired adrenal hyperplasia
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morphology
Radiographic features
enlarged limbs of one or both adrenal glands >10 mm thick
normal adrenal morphology maintained
nodular or uniform
MRI
high lipid content and thus may demonstrate signal dropout on out-of-phase chemical shift imaging
signal dropout due to lipid content overlaps with adrenal cortical adenomas
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