The World Health Organization lists the seizure drug Dilantin (Phenytoin) as an essential drug for any basic healthcare system, but emerging evidence suggests that Dilantin may cause permanent changes to the brain and skull.

According to a recently published medical journal article, Dilantin may cause thickening of the skull and focal cerebral atrophy. In this condition, the skull thickens and the brain shrinks, causing a wide variety of complications.

The article detailed the case of a patient who had been diagnosed with epilepsy as a teenager and had been taking Dilantin shortly thereafter. In her 30s, the patient injured her head during a seizure and doctors took a CT scan of her brain. What they found was shocking.

The patient’s skull had visibly thickened in CT scans, and her brain had shrunk. Curiously, in this particular case, the patient did not yet suffer serious medical repercussions from the focal cerebral atrophy, and researchers described the changes as “cosmetic.”

However, focal cerebral atrophy varies wildly in terms of its side effects, and researchers noted that more than a third of patients who chronically take Dilantin develop focal cerebral atrophy.

In the case of the Dilantin patient described above, researchers looked into other possible causes of her focal cerebral atrophy, and Dilantin seemed the most likely suspect.

Focal Cerebral Atrophy

In focal cerebral atrophy, a more specific form of which is called cerebellar atrophy, the shrinking of the brain can cause a variety of symptoms. Depending on what part of the brain bears the brunt of the damage, a patient may have trouble speaking or moving.

In other cases of focal cerebral atrophy, memory and thinking may get impaired. This can manifest in problems speaking, like the inability to speak or understand language, or attempts at communication coming out as disjointed, incoherent “word salad.”

In still other cases, focal cerebral atrophy may manifest as dementia. Like many types of brain damage, patients may develop very specific trouble with speaking, moving, and thinking.

The skull growth seen in Dilantin patients may change the structure of patients’ faces. Researchers have described these changes as “acromegaloid.” This means that patients have the same kind of facial features seen in people with a type of gigantism, such as elongated foreheads, thickening of the lips, and a general stretched facial structure.

Dilantin Focal Cerebral Atrophy Lawsuit Investigation

The 2007 research study described the connection between Dilantin and focal cerebral atrophy as well-known and well-established.

A Dilantin lawsuit investigation has been launched to explore the possibility of legal action against Dilantin’s manufacturers. A Dilantin lawsuit could allege that drug’s makers were aware—or reasonably should have been aware—of the risk of focal cerebral atrophy and skull thickening from Dilantin. Such a Dilantin lawsuit could seek to recoup the cost of medical care and compensation for pain and suffering allegedly caused by Dilantin.