A number of cerebellar atrophy causes have been identified in affected patients. These include genetic mutations, paraneoplastic syndromes, stroke, and multiple sclerosis, among others.

Additionally, extreme alcohol abuse and certain drugs have been associated with cerebellar atrophy and are considered to be potential cerebellar atrophy causes.

What Is Cerebellar Atrophy?

Cerebellar atrophy is the degeneration or wasting away of the part of the brain known as the cerebellum. This brain structure is responsible for controlling muscular activity, including balance and coordination as well as speech and posture.

With cerebellar atrophy, brain cells are lost as are the connections between the brain cells. When these neurons have deteriorated, the functioning of the brain structure is affected and symptoms ensue.

Dilantin Suspected as One of Several Potential Cerebellar Atrophy Causes

Dilantin (phenytoin) is an anticonvulsant drug that is used to treat abnormal brain activity such as seizures in adults and children. It has also been found helpful in treating those who have issues with mood stabilization or bipolar disorder, among other uses.

While research studies often cannot say a medication directly causes a symptom or condition, and can only say that there is an association or link between a medication in a particular symptom their condition, it is suspected that the drug may cause these issues even though it may not be definitively stated.

For example, in one such study, 100 MRIs were studied from individuals who had been taking phenytoin for at least two months prior to the brain imaging. These 100 MRIs were compared with 20 MRIs from an adult control group that was deemed healthy.

In this study, the researchers found that the link between the use of Dilantin was associated with the degree of cerebellar atrophy noted in the imaging. This led researchers to wonder if Dilantin could be considered among cerebellar atrophy causes.

The researchers looked at the length of time that an individual was diagnosed with epileptic seizures and try to determine if that was related to the amount of cerebellar atrophy he noted in the imaging.

While these factors had a significant association with cerebellar atrophy, the use of Dilantin itself had an even stronger association.

Another one of the cerebellar atrophy causes, alcohol abuse, seems to work in a similar way on the brain as may Dilantin. In fact, the symptoms of severe alcohol intoxication overlap with the symptoms of cerebellar atrophy a great deal.

These symptoms include:

• Slurring of speech or other speech difficulty
• Difficulty in walking
• Difficulty with posture or balance
• Impaired coordination
• Difficulty executing fine motor movements
• Rapid, uncontrolled eye movements (nystagmus)
• Difficulty swallowing

Many patients who have taken Dilantin did not suspect that the drug could have been one of the cerebellar atrophy causes after they were diagnosed with the condition. Some may feel they were not adequately warned of all of the potential side effects of the drug and state that they would not have taken the drug had they had known of the severity of complications that could arise from its use.