Some of the drugs that are often prescribed to treat depression have been associated with a heightened risk of suicidal thought and behavior among adults under 25, as well as children under 18, according to recent research. The risk is lower among older patients.

"Black box" warnings -- the strongest the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can require -- are already mandated to alert doctors of heightened suicide risk in children under the age of 18 who use the drugs, which include the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil, as well as Effexor and Wellbutrin.

The risk of suicidal thought and behavior appears to be double in the under-25 population than in persons who are older, recent research suggests.

The panel has advised the FDA to require that the drugs' labels also carry information on the risks associated with not treating depression.

One mother castigated the members of the panel, saying she held them responsible for her husband's suicide. Their children not only lost a father, she said, her voice shaking with anger, but also were subjected to the risk that he might kill his family as well as himself.

However, some doctors expressed worry that a "black box panic" might lead to seriously depressed patients not receiving treatment and medications that could save their lives.

Some patients told the panel members that the drugs had helped them and credited their meds with keeping them from committing suicide.