Dilantin cerebral atrophy can be a serious side effect of taking the anti-seizure medication.

Dilantin (phenytoin) is one of the oldest drugs still used today. Doctors discovered in the late 1800s that phenytoin could control certain types of epileptic seizures. The drug works by slowing the electrical impulses in the brain that initiate episodes of seizures.

Even though Dilantin controls seizures, it can also lead to a loss of neural connectivity in the brain. When brain cells can no longer connect to each other through neural activity, the brain tissue’s health declines, a condition known as cerebral atrophy.

A patient with Dilantin cerebral atrophy can experience a shrinking of the entire brain due to decreased neural activity.

However, the part of the brain most often affected by cerebral atrophy (brain decline) is the cerebellum, which is then more specifically known as Dilantin cerebellar atrophy. The cerebellum is located under the cerebrum and behind the brain stem.

Causes of Dilantin Cerebral Atrophy

Dilantin cerebral atrophy can occur after years of taking the medication or after taking doses that are higher than the therapeutic range for the patient. Dilantin is one of the most potent drugs on the market, which means just the slightest increase in the dosage can lead to toxicity.

Researchers who have examined the MRIs of the brains of patients who have taken Dilantin found the cerebelli to be much smaller than that part of the brain in a non-treated group of patients. The first observation of the size difference was made in 1994.

The Annals of Neurology detailed a study of five patients with epilepsy who suffered from Dilantin cerebral atrophy. They all had shrinkage of the cerebellum. All of them had been prescribed Dilantin, which kept their seizures at bay. Because the patients had not suffered seizures, but had taken Dilantin, the researchers found the Dilantin to be the root cause of the cerebellar atrophy.

Signs that Dilantin Cerebral Atrophy Affects the Cerebellum

Dilantin cerebral atrophy that affects the cerebellum can cause a variety of symptoms. In severe cases, patients show an inability to control many types of motor skills.

Because the cerebellum controls fine motor skills and coordination, the following might be indicative of cerebellar atrophy:

• A lurching-type walk
• Unsteady, stumbling gait
• Slow or unsteady jerking movements of the arms or legs
• Small, rapid movements of the eyes
• Memory loss
• Clumsiness with routine activities such as buttoning clothing or writing
• Changes in the tone, pitch or volume of speech
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Personality changes
• Trouble sleeping
• Nausea
• Rash
• Swollen, tender gums

Elderly Dilantin users and patients who are on medications to treat certain abnormal heart rhythms, alcoholism, ulcers and tuberculosis are at a greater risk of Dilantin cerebral atrophy because the combination of medicines can lead to Dilantin toxicity.

At the same time, Dilantin might interfere with the effectiveness of some medicines, including birth control pills, antidepressants and antibiotics.