More than half of 26,000 college students who completed a Web survey said they had thought about committing suicide at least once in their lives, University of Texas at Austin researchers say.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they had seriously considered suicide, and more than 5 percent said they had actually attempted to kill themselves at least once, psychologist David J. Drum and co-authors reported Sunday in a news release to coincide with their planned presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Boston.

TUESDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer patients are at increased risk for suicide, according to three new studies.

In the first study, researchers at the University of Washington analyzed U.S. data from 1973 to 2002 and found that the suicide rate among cancer patients was 31.4 per 100,000 person-years, compared to 16.7 per 100,000 person-years in the general population.

WASHINGTON - More than 22,000 veterans have sought help from a special suicide hot line in its first year, and 1,221 suicides have been averted, the government says.

According to a recent RAND Corp. study, roughly one in five soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan displays symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, putting them at a higher risk for suicide. Researchers at Portland State University found that male veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide than men who are not veterans.

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An experimental treatment for depression is reportedly giving hope to patients who suffer from its most severe form. Deep brain stimulation (or DBS) in which the brain is stimulated with electrical impulses in an attempt to change mood. In this week's Biological Psychiatry, a Toronto-based scientist reported that he noticed a significant reduction in depression in 60 percent of patients who had not responded to more conventional treatments. The procedure has been used on 40,000 people worldwide including Parkinson's patients.

FDA Wants Suicide Warning for Epilepsy Drugs

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.

Saw this story on bbc.com about Rimonabant -- a controversial weight-loss drug that was approved by the Britain's NHS. The drug has apparently been linked to an increased risk of depression and suicide especially among those already taking anti-depressants.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/747178...

The story got me thinking about whether drugs that have death or suicide as a side effect should be approved? If so, does the patient and doctor assume all risks associated with the drug? Should a drug not be approved to protect a few with high risk factors?