By Lauran Neergaard
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Doctors who prescribe some popular antidepressants should monitor their patients closely for warning signs of suicide, especially when they first start the pills or change a dose, the government warned Monday.

The drugs covered by the government's warning

Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Celexa, Remeron, Lexapro, Luvox, Serzone and Wellbutrin.

The Food and Drug Administration asked makers of 10 drugs to add or strengthen suicide-related warnings on their labels. Manufacturers didn't immediately say if they'd comply.

The agency insists it's not yet clear whether the drugs actually spur suicide on occasion - or whether the underlying mental illness is to blame. But the agency bowed to pressure from anguished families who blame the pills for their loved ones' suicides.

It's a difficult issue because depression itself can lead to suicide, and studies clearly show that antidepressants have helped many people recover from depression.

Until the question is settled, the agency's scientific advisers had urged stronger warnings of agitation, anxiety and hostility in unusually prone patients.

Monday, the agency followed that recommendation, stressing that the most vulnerable time is when a patient starts therapy or changes the dose.

"We think this is good advice whether the drugs increase the risk or not," said FDA medical policy chief Dr. Robert Temple. "There's a reason people are put on therapy - their depression is worse or somebody's worried about it. Maybe that's what drives it (reports of suicides) or maybe it's the drugs. In either case, you really need to pay attention in the early days."

While the investigation initially focused on children and teenagers, Monday's warning includes adults, too.

The drugs are newer generation antidepressants: Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, called SSRIs or SSRI-like drugs; and Remeron, Serzone and Wellbutrin, which work differently.