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Popular anti-anxiety medication could be putting more than 1 million pregnant women at risk of miscarriage, a new study suggests. Researchers from Taiwan studied more than 3 million pregnancies in 2 million women and found 4.4 percent - or 136,130 - resulted in miscarriages. They analyzed the medical history of all the women studied, and found those prescribed a class of drug called benzodiazepines - used to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia - were, on average, 70 percent more likely to miscarry compared to those who didn't take the pills. Benzodiazepines, also called benzos, are a group of sedative drugs....

Neuron With Extensions and Microglia Cells Neuron with extensions (blue) and microglia cells (red) interacting with synapses. Credit: Y. Shi and M. Cui ======================================================================== Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use Attacks Synapses LMU scientists have discovered the means by which the long-term taking of benzodiazepines leads to cognitive impairments. Benzodiazepines are effective and widely used drugs for treating states of anxiety and sleep disorders. While short-term treatments are considered safe, their long-term intake can lead to physical dependence and, particularly in the case of older people, to cognitive impairments. The mechanisms by which benzodiazepines trigger these changes had previously been unknown. Researchers led...

Stephen Paddock, who killed at least 58 people and wounded hundreds more in Las Vegas on Sunday with high-powered rifles, was prescribed an anti-anxiety drug in June that can lead to aggressive behavior, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has learned... Records from the Nevada Prescription Monitoring Program obtained Tuesday show Paddock was prescribed 50 10-milligram diazepam tablets by Henderson physician Dr. Steven Winkler on June 21. A woman who answered the phone at Winkler’s office would not make him available to answer questions and would neither confirm nor deny that Paddock was ever a patient. Paddock purchased the drug — its...

The drug, marketed as Valium, is part of a class of medication known as anxiolytic and sedative, which are commonly referred to as benzodiazepines, Scott Dehorty, LCSW-C, executive director at Maryland House Detox, Delphi Behavioral Health, told Fox News by email. Citing the Nevada Prescription Monitoring Program, the Las Vegas Review-Journal identified Dr. Steven Winkler as the prescribing physician, but he was not made available for comment. ... Dehorty described diazepam as a “highly addictive medication, which can have paradoxical effects.” He cautioned that continued use of the medication could cause patients to suffer from symptoms they initially sought relief...

Nichols suffered multiple medical problems including type II diabetes, depression and chronic pain from fibromyalgia. Some of those conditions should have prohibited him from operating an aircraft. As part of his treatment, he was taking 13 prescription medicines, many of which are also prohibited for pilots at the controls. A toxicology test performed on his body found seven different drugs in his blood and urine that were prohibited by the FAA, including oxycodone and the sedative diazepam, also known as Valium. Such drugs can impair brain function and motor controls, according to the NTSB documents. He had also been convicted...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- An autopsy has found that artist Thomas Kinkade's death was caused by an accidental overdose of alcohol and prescription tranquilizers. NBC Bay Area News reported Monday (( http://bit.ly/Jsgrvg) ) that the Santa Clara County medical examiner concluded that the self-described "Painter of Light" stopped breathing at his Northern California home on April 6 from a combination of alcohol and Valium.

The Army Surgeon General's office is backing away from its long-standing endorsement of prescribing troops multiple highly addictive psychotropic drugs for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and early this month warned regional medical commanders against using tranquilizers such as Xanax and Valium to treat PTSD. An April 10 policy memo that the Army Medical Command released regarding the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD said a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines, which include Xanax and Valium, could intensify rather than reduce combat stress symptoms and lead to addiction. The memo, signed by Herbert Coley, civilian chief of staff of...

Senate Republicans criticize the president's effort to seek cooperation on key issues. President Obama paid a rare visit Tuesday to Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill, seeking their support on energy, immigration and other top-priority measures. But he hit a buzz saw of criticism and resentment that bodes poorly for the remainder of his legislative agenda. In the tense closed-door meeting, Obama told Senate Republicans he did not want legislative business to grind to a halt just because an election was approaching, and asked for their cooperation on ratifying the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, confirming Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court...

At President Obama's talks with Senate Republicans, little is accomplishedBy Paul Kane and Shailagh Murray Wednesday, May 26, 2010 President Obama went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for a rare meeting with Senate Republicans, but the 75-minute session yielded little progress on hot-button topics and left some senators with bruised feelings. "He needs to take a Valium before he comes in and talks to Republicans," Sen. Pat Roberts (Kan.) told reporters. "He's pretty thin-skinned." Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) described the meeting as "testy," and Sen. John Thune (S.D.) called it a "lively discussion." Others questioned whether the "symbolism" of Obama's...

Note: The following text is a quote: Delta Flight 273 Passenger Charged with Interfering with Flight Crew and Making False Bomb Threats on Aircraft BANGOR, ME—Derek Michael Stansberry, a U.S. citizen and resident of Riverview, Fla., was charged today in a criminal complaint in the District of Maine with interfering with flight crew members and willfully making false threats about an explosive device on an aircraft, U.S. Attorney Paula D. Silsby announced. Stansberry, 27, a passenger on Delta flight 273 from Paris to Atlanta on April 27, 2010, was arrested yesterday after the flight was diverted to Bangor, Maine, in...

You know who you are. You're the one posting stupid comments about what a loser Johnny is. You're the one getting on the political chat shows and telling everyone that you think Obama is super great and that he's going to win! Yeay! And your supposed to be a conservative. Why don't you shut up! I'm talking to all the whiners who piled on and joined the Chris Matthews bandwagon and declared Johnny an old man and a big dull loser. He did fine last night. He was the boss on foreign policy. He's never been a dazzling public speaker...

Had to go to the doctor yesterday and there I was, stuck in a small waiting room with no way to escape. See, there was this flatpanel on one wall tuned into CNN and I couldn't change the channel or sound, and unfortunately, McCain was speaking. I expect blather, falsehoods, socialism, innuendos, garbage and BS from BO but there is McCain with blather, falsehoods, socialism, innuendos, garbage and BS. I was looking for the nearest chair to put thru the screen. Decided it probably was not the best thing to do. If he had half a brain, and I'm sure...

Gore's son pleads guilty in drug case By GILLIAN FLACCUS 6 minutes ago Al Gore's son pleaded guilty Monday to possessing marijuana and other drugs, but a judge said the plea could be withdrawn and the charges dropped if he successfully completes a drug diversion program. Authorities have said they found drugs in Al Gore III's car after the 24-year-old was pulled over on July 4 for going 100 mph in his Toyota Prius. He pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of drug possession, two misdemeanor counts of drug possession without a prescription, and one misdemeanor count of marijuana...

LAGUNA NIGUEL, California — Al Gore's son faces up to three years in prison if convicted on felony drug-possession charges and lesser offenses related to July 4 traffic stop in Orange County where he was found with 140 Vicodin pills, according to a report from the People.com Web site. Al Gore III, 24, faces two felony counts of drug possession, two misdemeanor counts of drug possession without a prescription and one misdemeanor count of marijuana possession, the district attorney's office said in a statement. Gore also was charged with a traffic infraction for allegedly driving faster than 100 mph. Gore...

Al Gore's son was charged with felony drug-possession charges and lesser offenses related to his July 4 speeding stop, authorities said Friday. And a law enforcement source tells PEOPLE that Gore had 140 Vicodin pills and "dozens" of other prescription drugs. If convicted on all charges, Albert Gore III faces up to three years and eight months in prison. But state law makes him eligible for a drug diversion program instead of incarceration, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. His arraignment is set for Aug. 1 in Laguna Niguel, Calif. Gore, 24, was pulled over south of Los...

Al Gore Defends Arrested Son's Carbon Offset Strategy by Scott Ott (2007-07-05) — Al Gore, the concert organizer and former U.S. vice president, today defended his son, Al III, after the younger Gore’s arrest for speeding and drug possession, applauding his use of the hybrid Toyota Prius to offset the carbon emissions of his smoking marijuana. “Even at 100 miles per hour,” said the elder Mr. Gore, “the Prius produces less deadly greenhouse gas than a Lincoln Navigator or a Hummer. While I don’t condone getting caught with marijuana, I would venture to say that my boy’s total carbon footprint...

Al Gore III, the 24-year-old son of Al Gore was arrested on suspicion of drug possession today. The former second-in-command's son was pulled over after allegedly driving his Prius 100 miles an hour down an Orange County freeway. (At least he was driving a Prius!) When deputies searched the car they found pot, along with Valium, Xanax, Vicodin and Adderall. He is currently being held at the Santa Ana Inmate Reception Center on $20,000 bail. This isn't Gore III's first arrest. He was charged with marijuana posession in 2003 and was ticketed for reckless driving in 2000 and 2002.

Gettin' ready!!!!

In the long run, the critical question for Democrats may turn out to be not what Party Chairman Howard Dean is doing, but what he isn't doing. The answer to the first question is easy. What he's doing is what he has become know for: shooting from the lip. This is, after all, the man who went from front-runner to also-ran in a matter of weeks, on the strength of a series of mistakes that convinced the most liberal Democratic voters in America that the guy was not ready for primetime. The much-remembered "Dean scream" came after he lost, not...

Among famous inventors, Leo H. Sternbach may not immediately leap to mind. But this May in Akron, Ohio, Dr. Sternbach, who is 96, will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He holds more than 240 patents, but perhaps his most famous invention, in collaboration with colleagues, is a chemical compound called diazepam, better known by its brand name, Valium. One of the earliest benzodiazepines, Valium was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1963 as a treatment for anxiety, and it would become not only the country's best-selling drug, but an American cultural icon. Referred to...