News footage of Ground Zero and the Pentagon will prompt memories of fear and grief for many Americans Wednesday when the nation commemorates the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks. But reaction will be stronger for some people for whom the news footage will stir up memories of trauma and loss.

DRUG TRIALS

The VA Medical Center is participating in two clinical trials for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. In the first, doctors will compare an antidepressant not yet on the market with sertraline hydrochloride, which is marketed as the antidepressant Zoloft. In the second, doctors will compare two types of counseling to see which is more effective for women veterans with PTSD.    Dr. Baker hopes the center will start a third study testing the effectiveness of sertraline hydrochloride in children with PTSD early next year. For information, call 861-3100, Ext. 4745, or 475-6572.

        At the VA Medical Center, a commemorative program will be held at 5 p.m. today for veterans troubled by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their families.

        “The anniversary of any event like this is a particularly difficult time,” says Dr. Dewleen Baker, a VA psychiatrist and director of the center's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Program.

        Family and friends of people killed in the attacks will be especially hard-hit. “Folks who are more distant may have their own reactions to it,” she says. “If somebody's been in a situation like it, a veteran who's seen combat or someone who's been in a hurricane and seen buildings come crashing down, it can recall those events for them.”

        For some people, watching the events of Sept. 11 on television was enough to trigger PTSD, experts say.

        “There have been at least two studies specifically directed at 9-11 footage that show that people who watched excessive amounts of news footage have higher levels of PTSD,” says Dr. Frank Putnam, director of the Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

        Children may be especially vulnerable, because they might not understand that the scenes they're seeing on television are archival footage “so some of them may react as if that were something that's actually happening. They have more anxiety about things that are happening in school or whatever.”

        “Parents might see some anxiety about going to school or, particularly, anxiety in kids whose parents have dangerous occupations or who are away from home or traveling,” Dr. Putnam said. Parents of adolescents might find their teens worried by rumors of impending disaster that tend to spread through schools.

        Dr. Baker and Dr. Putnam have simple advice if the images of Sept. 11 are too upsetting: Turn off the television.

        “I dose myself,” Dr. Baker says. “I know when enough's enough and I turn it off.”

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