Benzodiazepines, a class of drugs that includes Valium and Ambien, may be a risk factor for dementia, according to a paper published in The British Medical Journal. Here is the paper’s conclusion:
“Benzodiazepine use is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The stronger association observed for long term exposures reinforces the suspicion of a possible direct association, even if benzodiazepine use might also be an early marker of a condition associated with an increased risk of dementia. Unwarranted long term use of these drugs should be considered as a public health concern.”
Paula Span, of The New York Times, has a good overview here.
And here is an overview of benzodiazepine pharmacology:
peakmemory 
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