Dilantin medication for seizures, generically known as phenytoin, has been linked to a potential increased risk of cerebellar atrophy.

Found to control seizures in the late 1800s, Dilantin continues to be one of the most popular medications prescribed to treat patients suffering from epilepsy and other seizures. Dilantin medication works by slowing the electric impulses inside the brain that are responsible for initiating seizures.

The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls coordination, precision movement and speech. When connections within the cerebellum deteriorate, the resulting cerebellar atrophy can have numerous devastating effects.

The cerebellum sits just above the brain stem and is made of two sections of folded tissue. The right section controls movement on the body’s right side; the left section controls movement on the left side of the body.

The Brain and Dilantin

The Epilepsy Foundation explains that brain cells fire “at a certain rate to function normally. During a seizure, brain cells are forced to work much more rapidly than normal.”

Even though Dilantin is proven to keep brain cells from firing at the acceleration needed to induce a seizure, the drug also might slow certain cell functions to their detriment. Dilantin cerebellar atrophy occurs when brain cells lose neurons that connect the cells to each other. The loss of neural connectivity leads to brain tissue degeneration.

Among the possible signs that Dilantin medication has caused cerebellar atrophy are:

• A swaying or stumbling walk
• Loss of arm and leg coordination
• Tremors or shaking
• Inability to sit still; constant bobbing from the trunk area
• Slurred speech
• Abnormally fast, uncontrollable rapid eye movements
• Headache
• Trouble sleeping
• Rash
• Nausea
• Bleeding gums
• Difficulty swallowing
• Problems completing fine motor tasks such as buttoning clothing

A couple of factors seem to influence the amount of potential brain damage. Patients who take the Dilantin medication for a long period of time are at a higher risk of cerebellar atrophy, as are those who take such a high dose that the blood serum levels are above the therapeutic range.

Dilantin Medication Side Effects Confirmed

According to one study, nearly 30 percent of all patients who take Dilantin on a long-term basis will experience some degree of cerebellar atrophy. Severe cerebellar atrophy can be seen in a patient who has very coarse features and a thickened skull in the forehead area, known as calvarial thickening.

An article from the Jan. 30, 2007 issue of Canadian Medical Association Journal explains that Dilantin medication tends to stimulate bone production. One study looked at the brain and skull of a 31-year-old woman who had suffered epileptic seizures since she was 15 years old. Her seizures reportedly began after she survived a case of encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain.

She had undergone the placement of an electrode that delivered electrical impulses to a nerve, which offered some relief from the seizures, but started taking Dilantin medication when she was 18 years old.

She incurred a head injury at age 31, which prompted doctors to take a CT scan of her head. The CT scan confirmed the woman had developed cerebellar atrophy and a thickening of her skull, both allegedly linked to years of taking Dilantin.

If you or someone you love has suffered cerebellar atrophy after taking Dilantin medication, you could be eligible to participate in this lawsuit investigation.