Atrophy of cerebellum, also known as cerebellar atrophy or cerebellar degeneration, has been associated with a popular anticonvulsant and antiepileptic drug known as Dilantin (phenytoin). Dilantin is prescribed to decrease the spread of seizure activity in the brain.

However, the drug has been linked to cerebellar atrophy. Atrophy of cerebellum can affect a variety of functions. Most importantly, it can affect functions such as movement, coordination, and speech.

Long-term use of Dilantin, according to recent studies, has been linked to atrophy of cerebellum in patients, affecting patients’ abilities to perform smooth voluntary movements.

What is Atrophy of Cerebellum?

Atrophy of cerebellum is a condition that affects a patient’s coordination and pattern due to brain damage in the cerebellum. Atrophy refers to the loss of tissue. As brain tissue begins to degenerate, the brain begins to lose neurons along with the neural pathways conducted between them.

Symptoms of someone who has developed atrophy of cerebellum may include signs of memory loss, slow and slurred speech, nystagmus (eyes that move in a small and rapid manner), movements in the arms or legs that are unsteady, slow, and jerky, or a lurching walk.

Other side effects of Dilantin include unwanted hair growth, overgrowth of gums, headache, slurred speech, slowed thinking, confusion, and difficulty falling and staying asleep.

Brain atrophy can be used to describe the general loss of brain tissue and neurons. Alternatively, the term can reference the degeneration of a specific portion of the brain and those functions, or focal loss.

Atrophy of cerebellum is a focal loss of the area of the brain known as the cerebellum, an area of the brain that sits below the cerebrum and behind the brain stem. The cerebellum is responsible for functions such as coordination, speech, posture, and balance.

Its purpose is to help allow for movements that are voluntarily coordinated and regulated. Thus, damage to the cerebellum or atrophy of cerebellum, linked to Dilantin, may result in a lack of those functions. Any such damage may manifest as tremors, slow and shaky movements, unstable eye movements, and a lack of balance.

A recent study published in the Seizure European Journal of Epilepsy found that long-term use of Dilantin is linked to the development of atrophy in cerebellum. The study looked into the length of time a patient used Dilantin and how that impacted and caused cerebellar atrophy.

According to the study, after looking at 56 patients (33 women), the development for cerebral atrophy after long-term use of Dilantin was detected in 20 (35.7 percent) of them. The study concluded that long-term Dilantin use is much more likely to result in atrophy of cerebellum.

While Dilantin has been a popular drug for treatment of patients suffering from seizures and epilepsy, other potential side effects linked have been to Dilantin including cerebellar toxicity. While recovery from cerebral atrophy is possible when patients stop taking Dilantin, the monitoring of withdrawal of the medication needs to be monitored by a physician.