"We are providing doctors and health care professionals with the FDA's advice so they can inform patients and their families about the risk of suicide as a result of taking these medicines," Medsafe's interim manager Stewart Jessamine said.

"In the meantime, we advise patients to consult their doctor before making any changes to the medicines they're taking."

People taking the medicines and those caring for them should be on the lookout for any unusual changes in behaviour, he said.

The anti-convulsant medicines approved for use in New Zealand are:

* Phenobarbital (brand name Phenobarbitone);

* Phenytoin sodium (Dilantin);

* Ethosuximide (Zarontin);

* Carbamazepine (Tegretol, Tegretol CR,Teril);

* Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal);

* Sodium valproate (Epilim);

* Tiagabine (Gabitril);

* Vigabatrin (Sabril);

* Gabapentin (Apo-Gabapentin, Arrow-Gabapentin, Neurontin, Nupentin);

* Topiramate (Apo-Topiramate, Topamax);

* Lamotrigine (Arrow-Lamotrigine, Lamictil, Lamitor DT, Logem, Mogine, Motrig);

* Levetiracetam (Keppra);

* Pregabalin (Lyrica); and

* Primidone (Apo-Primidone).

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