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Women who experience long and irregular menstrual cycles during reproductive years may be at greater risk of dying before age 70, an observational study finds. The study, published recently in the journal The BMJ, found the likelihood of premature death was stronger when related to cardiovascular disease and when long and irregular cycles were present during adolescence and adulthood. The link was slightly stronger among women who smoked. (Clanton, 10/6)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said last month it will now require makers of benzodiazepines to outline the risks of abuse, addiction, physical dependence and withdrawal on the drugs' labels. Benzodiazepines, or "benzos," which include brand name drugs like Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Librium and Valium, are used for the treatment of anxiety, insomnia, seizures, social phobia and panic disorder. (Safai, 10/7)

In April, Governor Charlie Baker filed a bill to empower the state’s mosquito control board to eradicate mosquitoes “as it deems necessary.” Citing last year’s unprecedented prevalence of EEE and the fact that several localities do not have mosquito control plans, the state, under Baker’s bill, could begin widespread pesticide spraying without local input or notification. The state has sprayed once this year, about 200,000 acres in Plymouth and Bristol Counties. (Bennett, 10/7)

Eddie Van Halen, whose razzle-dazzle guitar-playing — combining complex harmonics, innovative fingerings and ingenious devices he patented for his instrument — made him the most influential guitarist of his generation and his band, Van Halen, one of the most popular rock acts of all time, died on Tuesday. He was 65. Mr. Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang, said in a statement that his father had “lost his long and arduous battle with cancer.” The statement did not say where he died. (Farber, 10/6)

Throat cancer is a term that can apply to several different types of cancers that occur in different locations in the head and neck. In 2018, more than 30,000 people in the U.S. received a throat cancer diagnosis of some kind, according to MD Anderson Cancer Center. Both laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers start in the lower part of the throat. Patients diagnosed with laryngeal cancer mean that the disease was detected in an area affecting the voice box, including the supraglottis, which is located above the vocal cords, the glottis, which contains the vocal cords or the subglottis, which is below the vocal cords, according to the American Cancer Society. (Hein, 10/6)