With human bone and skin, new cells are constantly made available by the body to replace old, expended cells. Some cells regenerate in response to injury, such as those in the liver, fingertips and endometrium. It has long been assumed, however that brain cells, once lost, do not replace themselves.

Death of brain cells or neurons and the connections between them are thought to cause overall brain shrinkage or atrophy. The term for this is cerebral atrophy. When it affects the cerebellum, an area of the brain forward of the brain stem at the base of the skull, it is called cerebellar atrophy.

Cerebellar atrophy from Dilantin, a drug used to treat epilepsy, can be heralded by an unsteady lurching walk with a notable tremor of the trunk of the body.

Other symptoms such as jerky movements of the arms and legs and slurred speech are common as well. More subtle signs such as memory loss and small back and forth movements of the eyes can be easily missed.

Cerebellar Atrophy from Dilantin or from Seizures?

It is difficult to determine sometimes whether cerebellar atrophy from Dilantin is an appropriate diagnosis or whether the shrinkage in this part of the brain was caused by the seizure disorder that the Dilantin prescription was given to treat. Epilepsy is a disease affecting the brain and central nervous system.

In a 1994 study, epilepsy patients exposed to Dilantin and epilepsy patients not exposed to the drug were examined for cerebellum size. Most epilepsy patients exposed to Dilantin had much smaller cerebellums overall.

Cerebellar Atrophy from Dilantin May be Treatable

Cerebellar Atrophy from Dilantin is treated first by discontinuing the drug. This should be done under the strict supervision of the prescribing doctor.

Often, the symptoms of the cerebellar atrophy diminish once the drug is slowly withdrawn from the body. If the patient has been exposed to longstanding use of Dilantin, some of the neuron loss may be permanent.

What is commonly seen to be non-retractable in former Dilantin patients is the lack of muscle coordination. This area of the brain affects the more precise aspects of the voluntary muscle movements of the body. The lack of smoothness in movement might be an identifiable trait left behind long after the drug is stopped.

Can Humans Make New Brain Cells?

It has long been believed that humans cannot regenerate neurons, or brain cells. Unlike other cells, neurons are more complicated in their makeup with spider-like tentacles.

A study published in the November 1998 issue of the British Journal Nature Medicine, reported that brain cells do grow in humans which ran counter to this commonly held belief, according to a CBS News report.

According to the study, rather than adult neurons dividing, premature brain neurons are held in reserve and are triggered somehow to divide and mature.

The process of how this triggering happens will be under investigation in the future as we determine how to treat sufferers of cerebral atrophy due to drug toxicity, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and similar disorders of the nervous system.