"Mother needs something today to calm her down. And though she's not really ill. There's a little yellow pill. She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper. And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day," sang the Rolling Stones in the 1960s when Diazepam, the generic version of Valium, was first marketed. Valium is a benzodiazepine derivative that slows down the neurological system. Because of its muscle relaxing effects, it is often prescribed for alcohol withdrawal, seizures, muscle spasms, insomnia and anxiety.
History
Leo Sternbach, a pharmacist's son, developed Diazepam in 1958. According to Alex Baenninger, the author of the Sternbach biography "Good Chemistry," Sternbach's discovery happened accidentally when he stumbled on a discarded test tube containing a few crystals from a "long-forgotten experiment." More than twice as effective as its predecessor chlordiazepoxide, Diazepam quickly became the most sold drug in the United States. It was the first of the 1970s so-called "blockbuster" drugs, marketed as a harmless reliever of common symptoms such as irritation and stress. Sales plummeted when the drug's addictive effects became public knowledge. As one of the World Health Organization's "core medications," Valium is still frequently prescribed. In 2009, it was the 41st most prescribed drug in the United States, according to mental health expert Charles Barker in his monograph "Comfortably Numb."
Identification
Valium comes in 2mg, 5mg and 10mg dosages. All Valium tablets are small, round pills with a mark across so it can be broken in half for smaller dosages. Two milligram tablets are white, 5mg tablets are yellow and 10mg tablets are baby blue. Generic Diazepam comes in a variety of colors but there is a tendency to follow the color scheme of Valium. If you are unsure about a dosage or the nature of a medication, ask your pharmacist. Diazepam is also found in trace amounts in plants, such as potato and wheat.
Effects
Benzodiazepines bind to receptors on GABA-expressing neurons at several sites in the central nervous system, including the brain stem. The messenger-molecule GABA naturally inhibits neuronal excitability by allowing chloride ions to permeate neuron membranes more easily. Benzodiazepines such as valium increase that effect, resulting in an overall retardation or slowdown of the neurological system.
Uses
Valium is still occasionally prescribed as a stress reliever. But its primary use is in the treatment of seizures, stiffness and spastic activity in diseases such as trauma from alcohol withdrawal, epilepsy, stiff-person syndrome and cerebral palsy. According to Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer, a professor at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Zurich, benzodiazepines, including Valium, can also alleviate chronic pain if applied to the spinal cord via injection into the spinal canal.
Side-Effects
Benzodiazepines can cause sedation, memory loss and deleterious effects. If it is mixed with other sedative medications or alcohol, it can cause coma and death. According to Peter Breggin, an Ithaca-based psychiatrist and author of "Toxic Psychiatry," Valium is one of the most addictive substances you can purchase as a prescription drug.
Theories/Speculation
Breggin also calls attention to rarely mentioned data on the effects of long-term use of even small and infrequent amounts of benzodiazepines. In a letter to the editor in the July 1989 issue of "Archives of General Psychiatry," Isaac Marks and colleagues report that long-term use of small doses of benzodiazepines can lead to an enlargement of the cerebral ventricular, which amounts to an atrophy of the brain.
References
- "Good Chemistry"; Alex Baenninger; 2004
- "Valium: the Tranquil Trap"; Gail Winger; 1986
- "Comfortably Numb"; Charles Barber; 2009
- Science Daily: A Step Forward In Targeted Pain Therapy
- "Toxic Psychiatry"; Peter Breggin; 1991
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