Glen Klein said he endured years of nightmares, heavy drinking and bouts of rage before he sought help for post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n
The old, yet lingering stigmas surrounding mental health treatment among first responders delayed Klein \u2014 a retired detective specialist with the NYPD\u2019s Emergency Services Unit \u2014 and others from receiving the help they needed while reeling from the sights, sounds and smells of Ground Zero after the 9\/11 terror attacks.<\/p>\n
“Even if you sign up to be a police officer or a firefighter, never in our wildest dreams did we ever think that we would be digging bodies out from two 110-story buildings for almost a year,” said Klein, 67, of Centereach, who has been diagnosed with chronic PTSD. “It was common to see dead bodies because we deal with homicides and bad car accidents. But to have almost 3,000 people buried in the rubble … it has to affect you pretty severely.”<\/p>\n
New research spearheaded by Stony Brook Medicine\u2019s World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program found that the trauma first responders like Klein experience exacted not just a psychological toll, but a physical one. An analysis of MRIs spearheaded by the Commack-based Stony Brook program revealed an abnormality in the brain composition of first responders who have re-experienced 9\/11 through flashbacks or nightmares.<\/p>\n
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUNDNew research spearheaded by Stony Brook Medicine\u2019s World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program found an abnormality in the brain composition of first responders experiencing certain forms of post-traumatic stress disorder.This study is the first of several slated for publication by Stony Brook researchers about the biological markers of PTSD.The approximately 23% of World Trade Center first responders diagnosed with PTSD currently cannot receive compensation for the condition through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.<\/p>\n
This study is the first of several slated for publication next year in which Stony Brook researchers will reveal the physical impacts of PTSD, tangible evidence patients and doctors can use to advocate for earlier and more appropriate treatment.<\/p>\n
Altering perceptions of PTSD<\/p>\n
Dr. Benjamin Luft, director of Stony Brook\u2019s 9\/11 program, told Newsday he hopes that studies of the biological effects of PTSD will persuade lawmakers to update the James Zadroga 9\/11 Health and Compensation Act. The legislation currently excludes the approximately 23% of World Trade Center responders diagnosed with PTSD from receiving compensation for the condition through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which sends “a very strong symbolic message,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It separates out this group of people, saying, \u2018You don\u2019t have a real injury, so we aren\u2019t going to give you any money for it,\u2019 \u201d Luft added.<\/p>\n
Since the World Trade Center program began shortly after 9\/11, Stony Brook doctors and researchers have sought to change how \u201cPTSD was being dealt with societally, medically, in that it was highly stigmatized,\u201d Luft said. When treating generations of first responders as well as veterans, he added that addressing \u201cPTSD was something that was not given the same importance as that for physical ailments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The MRIs and other biological evidence of PTSD affecting the brain and body also may lead those still concerned about stigmas to seek help.<\/p>\n