Primary adrenocortical nodular dysplasia with Cushing's syndrome and cardiac myxomas. A peculiar familial disease

Abstract

In a family with 4 children, 2 had slowly developing Cushing's syndrome and were adrenalectomized between the ages of 18 and 28 years. As in other cases with familial Cushing's syndrome, primary adrenocortical nodular dysplasia, the so-called adrenocortical adenomatosis, was demonstrated. The brother, now 39 years old, is in good health. The sister, however, died at the age of 36 years. Autopsy revealed a cardiac myxoma of the left atrium. A cardiac myxoma had been found incidentally at autopsy of these two patients' oldest brother, a boy who died at the age of 4 years. Both siblings with Cushing's syndrome presented additional Peutz-Jegher-like hyperpigmentation and myxomatous tumours of the skin. Identical observations of familial adrenocortical nodular dysplasia, Cushing's syndrome and cardiac myxomas have not been reported to date. However, the familial occurrence of cardiac myxomas and adrenocortical dysplasia in combination with bilateral large cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumours of the testis has been published recently.