Patients prescribed long-term use of Dilantin (phenytoin) used for the treatment of epilepsy and seizures, have developed Dilantin complications such as cerebellar atrophy.

Cerebellar atrophy is also known as the degeneration of the cerebellum. Cerebellar atrophy effects a person’s movement, coordination, and speech.  The condition affects the part of the brain, located in the back of the skull, responsible for muscular activity.

Cerebellar toxicity can be one of the more damaging side effects being correlated to the antiepileptic medication Dilantin.

Dilantin Complications

Dilantin is an anticonvulsant or antiepileptic drug prescribed to prevent and control seizures. Dilantin is said to affect the neural pathways of the brain and to cause a loss of neurons that are responsible for transmitting information through electrical and chemical signals.

However, cerebellar atrophy is reported to be one side effect of Dilantin that can cause permanent changes to the brain and skull. According to medical research, long-term use of Dilantin may cause the drug to accumulate in the cerebral cortex over time, causing toxic levels of buildup in the brain and triggering the brain condition.

Some symptoms of cerebellar atrophy include memory loss, slow and slurred speech, jerky movements in the arms or legs, and a lurching walk. The symptoms of an individual developing Dilantin complications such as cerebellar atrophy can include tremors, slow movement, and a lack of balance. Some of the symptoms of cerebellar atrophy can be much like the symptoms of someone who has suffered a stroke.

Another potential side effect associated with taking Dilantin is the thickening of the skull.  This leads to a variety of other complications and symptoms of this condition may come about slowly or rapidly.  Skull growth caused by Dilantin can cause the structure of a patient’s face to alter. Such changes are called “acromegaloid.”

Dilantin Complications Studies

A published study in the Seizure European Journal of Epilepsy discovered that long-term Dilantin use is linked to cerebral atrophy. The study looked at 56 patients and found that cerebral atrophy was detected in 20 of them.

Additionally, although research has linked Dilantin complications to cerebellar atrophy and has linked this side effect to the long-term use of Dilantin, complications are said to stem from drug serum levels above the therapeutic range. However, complications of cerebellar atrophy have occurred even if a patient’s drug serum levels are within normal range.