Reports of Dilantin injuries show that patients who use the drug for long-term seizure control may be at risk for developing a movement disorder.

Dilantin is an anticonvulsant drug that’s also known by its generic name phenytoin. Scientists believe Dilantin works by tempering electrical activity within the brain and nervous system.

Dilantin is now approved by the FDA as a treatment for tonic-clonic (“grand mal”) and psychomotor (or temporal lobe) seizures. It’s also approved to treat and prevent the seizures that sometimes happen during or after neurosurgery.

More than a century after it was first formulated, Dilantin is now one of the most frequently prescribed drugs in the world. Generic versions are widely available, and its cost is not especially high.

But like any other drug, Dilantin has its side effects. Now that Dilantin has been in such widespread use for so long, there’s plenty of medical literature on the subject of Dilantin’s side effects.

Post-Market Reports of Dilantin Injuries

Some case studies of Dilantin injuries suggest that long-term use of the drug could cause development of a chronic movement disorder known as cerebellar ataxia.

These case studies recount the experiences of patients who developed signs of cerebellar atrophy after using Dilantin for an extended time to keep their seizures under control.

Cerebellar atrophy is a kind of focal cerebral atrophy that affects the cerebellum, the lobe at the back of the brain that plays a significant role in coordination of physical movement. Atrophy of the cerebellum can reduce the volume of tissue within it.

Understandably, patients who suffer from atrophy of the cerebellum tend to exhibit difficulty with movement. These types of Dilantin injuries can be particularly insidious, as they can affect a person’s ability to work and to perform ordinary activities of daily living.

Symptoms of Cerebellar Atrophy

One of the most visible symptoms of cerebellar atrophy is an unsteady, lurching walk. Patients with this condition tend to have trouble maintaining balance and upright posture. These symptoms can make ordinary movement difficult or even dangerous.

Patients may also exhibit tremors throughout the body. Movement of the limbs can be slow and unsteady.

These problems can affect finer movements like those involved in speech and vision. Some patients have trouble directing their gaze at a particular object, and that can make reading particularly challenging.

Swallowing food can also become difficult and may even come with an elevated risk of choking.

Dilantin injuries like these may be worse than what patients were led to expect from the information provided with the drug.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are held to certain standards requiring disclosure of the risks associated with their products so that patients and their doctors can make informed decisions about their health care.

When manufacturers fail to live up to those standards, patients can suffer. A consultation with a knowledgeable products liability attorney can give patients an idea of what legal options and potential compensation may be available under their own circumstances.