According to reports, patients taking Dilantin for epilepsy may be at an increased risk for developing Dilantin brain atrophy.

There has been an increasing body of research alleging that the long-term use of Dilantin, also known as phenytoin, an anticonvulsant drug, increases the risk for developing permanent cerebellar atrophy.

Patients who are being treated for epilepsy by taking Dilantin face the increased risk of an irreversible and permanent deterioration of the cerebellum.

The degenerative disorder has permanent effects on the brain. Dilantin brain atrophy, or cerebellar atrophy, is the deterioration of the cerebellum. The cerebellum is the part of the brain primarily in control of voluntary muscle movement, posture and balance.

Moreover, if a patient is diagnosed with Dilantin brain atrophy, they will likely experience symptoms such as trouble swallowing or speaking, poor muscle control and an unsteady gait. The speed at which these symptoms develop will further depend on the cause of the cerebellar degeneration.

Dilantin brain atrophy, moreover, may further cause other serious and debilitating effects. Such debilitating complications may include feeling week on one half of the body or a struggle in performing fine motor tasks.

Other symptoms of Dilantin brain atrophy include back and forth body tremors, unsteady and lurching walk, slurred and slow speech, jerking and unsteady movements in the body’s extremities and nystagmus, or the small rapid movements in the eyes.

Stages of Dilantin Brain Atrophy

There are three stages in a patient developing Dilantin brain atrophy. The first stage includes characterizing symptoms such as lack of coordination in the body’s lower limbs while climbing steps, a struggle in estimating the distance of objects and a struggle in moving one’s eyes, dizziness while walking and the body’s inability to be flexible while moving.

The next stage comprises of symptoms which include the struggle in coordinating one’s muscle’s and limbs and feeling as if they are heavy, coordination loss and the inability to write, not being able to properly walk and the inability to control posture and slurring speech.

The last and final stage of Dilantin brain atrophy is composed of the loss of speech, intelligence dwindling, a person not being able to sit nor stand and words in writing that cannot be understood.

A study published in the Archives of Neurology examined a potential link between Dilantin and cerebellar atrophy. The researchers stated, “Cerebellar atrophy may be seen in phenytoin-exposed patients with epilepsy in the absence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures or preexistent brain damage. Whether it is the phenytoin or the seizures that play the primary etiologic role remains unanswered. These factors may be synergistic.”

Another study published in the Journal of Postgraduate Medicine also confirmed a case where a four-year-old boy was diagnosed with cerebellar atrophy caused by the increased amount of Dilantin prescribed to treat his epilepsy.

Researchers in that study reported, “In our patient it is difficult to establish with certainty that the cerebellar degeneration was due to the chronic PHT [phenytoin] overdose…. However, our patient was seizure free for almost ten months on PHT therapy when cerebellar signs first appeared. Thus in the setting of a high PHT level, it is most likely that the cerebellar atrophy occurred due to PHT toxicity related to crude adjustment of dose.”