The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to add a "black box" warning detailing an increased risk of suicide connected with drugs used to treat seizures in people with epilepsy.

On its Web site Monday, the FDA said an analysis released in January of nearly 200 studies showed patients taking anti-seizure drugs were more likely to have suicidal thoughts and behaviors than those taking a placebo. While the reports of problems were extremely rare, the agency said drug-treated patients faced about twice the risk of suicide or suicidal thoughts. On average, those patients experienced suicidal thoughts or behavior 0.43 percent of the time, compared with 0.22 percent for those taking a placebo, the Associated Press reported.

The FDA said it was intent on revising the warning labels for all drugs in the class, although it's not entirely clear why they increase suicidal behaviors, the AP said.

"There seems to be no compelling reason to ignore what appears to be a very clear empirical finding of increase in suicidality, despite no obvious explanation," said FDA Director of Neurology Products Russell Katz.

FDA advisers are to consider the black-box proposal at a meeting on June 10, the news service said.

The American Medical Association is waging a full-scale ad campaign urging U.S. Senators to put the brakes on a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians.

The cuts �?required by law to offset higher-than-budgeted Medicare expenses �?took effect July 1, in the absence of enough Senate votes to reverse them. While the House passed a bill to reverse the cuts just before the Fourth of July recess, Republicans blocked a similar measure in the Senate, The New York Times reported.

The bills would reverse the cuts to physicians and make up the shortfall by reducing payments to private insurance companies that offer alternative plans to the traditional federal Medicare program. Senate Republicans and the White House oppose that idea, saying it would ultimately hurt people who depend on the private plans, known as Medicare Advantage.

The AMA ads say senators who failed to reverse the cuts to doctors are aiding "powerful insurance companies at the expense of Medicare patients' access to doctors."

The Bush administration has ordered a delay in processing new Medicare claims, hoping that a compromise can be reached. Senate Democrats say they're planning to force another vote on the matter this week, the newspaper said.