Dilantin medicine side effects may include cerebellar degeneration, according to recent reports.

Dilantin—known generically as phenytoin—has been successfully in use since the early part of the 20^th century to treat patients with certain types of epilepsy. Cerebellar degeneration, or a shrinkage of the bilateral brain lobe called the cerebellum, has been seen and correlated with consistent use of the drug over long periods of time and with higher doses.

Dilantin medicine side effects related to cerebellar degeneration are often visible in patients through changes in gait, speech, and balance. To the untrained eye, a person experiencing these Dilantin medicine side effects can appear as if they are inebriated with alcohol or other drugs.

The cerebellum is responsible for the fine tuning of voluntary skeletal muscle movements which range from minute to gross motor skills. Overall, this lobe coordinates all movement involved in complex tasks such as talking and walking at the same time, playing basketball, and running cross-country.

The Dilantin medicine side effects can be noted with a peculiar side-to-side tremor of the body’s torso when walking or with a tentativeness that appears as if the person is walking on glass. The lack of balance can lead to frequent upset while ambulating and slurring when speaking.

Additionally, Dilantin medicine side effects can cause an uncontrollable side-to side movement of the eyes known as nystagmus, and fine motor tremors in the fingers and hands.

The historical problem identifying these Dilantin side effects was that cerebellar atrophy has also known to be part of having a seizure disorder in the first place—the very condition for which the drug is taken. Because of this, pinpointing the connection between the medicine and the shrinkage required the ingenuity of a group of scientists that were willing to control for this factor.

In 1994, a study was undertaken which attempted this and was able to isolate long-term Dilantin medicine side effects. The participants in the study all had seizure disorders, but only half of them were treated with phenytoin.

The other half were treated with an alternate drug protocol. The recipients of the medicines and the researchers were blind as to which drug was being administered to which patient until the end of the study.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images of the brain were taken to determine both overall brain size and size of cerebellum before treatment and then after. Those patients treated with phenytoin were noted to have Dilantin medicine side effects as indicated both in some visible symptoms and in size of cerebellum.

This lobe was overall quite a bit smaller in those that had taken Dilantin for the length of the study.

Questions remain as to whether the neural connections that form the mass of the cerebellum are permanently lost or whether simple change of medicine can set the stage to rebuild neurons. Improvements have been seen in the symptoms of those who switch over to an alternative anticonvulsant drug.

Patients should never undertake this switch without the advice and guidance of their prescribing physicians. Uncontrolled seizure states can be deadly. If you or a loved one are concerned, speak with the patient’s doctor.