Morphological changes in the adrenal cortex in different variants of low-renin hyperaldosteronism. Comparison with the functional state of certain hormonal systems.

On the basis of morphological and histochemical examination of adrenal tissue of 45 patients with arterial hypertension and low-renin hyperaldosteronism, the following five morphological variants of this disease were differentiated: 1) with adenoma of the adrenal cortex and atrophy of surrounding cortical tissue; 2) with adenoma and hyperplasia of elements of the zona glomerulosa and(or) the zona fasciculata and the zona reticularis; 3) with multiple adenomatosis of the adrenal cortex; 4) with isolated diffuse or focal hyperplasia of the zona glomerulosa; 5) with nodal, diffuse-nodal or diffuse hyperplasia of all cortical zones. In tumours, three structural variants, corresponding to their histogenesis, were identified. A correlation was found between morphological variants and hormonal diagnosis of different forms of low-renin hyperaldosteronism.