Newsday from New York, New York • 29

i Emr I 3n r5 rr- mm -MXr v' I SWEETENED DRINKS baby Lactic learning Lactic add a by-product of metabolism during periods of intense exercisehas long been considered a major cause of athletic exhaustion and failure Now in an Olympian reversal scientists have found that lactic acid actually enhances a tired muscle's ability to keep on twitching Researchers at I La Trobe University in Australia studying rat muscle fibers found that the increasing acidity that comes with lactic acid buildup lowered the thresh-j old that a muscle fiber must overcome to con- tract WASHINGTON POST Cassini flyby The Cassini spacecraft I fired its engine for 51 minutes Monday to set itself on a safe course for another flyby of the big moon Titan in October buddies Dalton Willett 4 months Res next to a 2-day-old miniature filly yesterday In Pocola Olda Johnny Willett placed his son next to the foal to show how small she is The foal was bom Monday the same -day Dalton turned 4 months to a dwarf miniature horse AF PHOTO burden lingers diabetes THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO Women who drink more than one sweetened soft drink a day are slightly more likely to develop diabetes than women who drink less than one a month according to a new study But critics noted the same conclusion might be drawn from examining eating habits involving other forms of Junk food too Obesity is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes so the extra calories from soda wnnt for at least some of the increased risk said the Harvard Universi- ty researchers who did the study But they said there also appears to be a link to the way the body handles the sugars in soft drinks A soft drink trade group said the study's conclusions were not scientifically sound and that the focus should be on unhealthy lifestyles and weight gain The study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association is based on data from a continuing health study of 5103 female nurses Surveys completed in 1991 1995 and 1999 detailed their eating habits weight physical activity and other health issues Researchers found the correlation between daily soft drinks and diabetes when such factors as weight diet and lifestyle differences were considered That led the scientists to suggest that in addition to extra calories the beverages might also increase diabetes risk because the rapidly absorbed sugars cause a dramatic rise in (glucose and insulin concentrations said Dr Walter Willett one of the co-authors and chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health NASA said Cassini made its first flyby of Titan on July 2 at a distance of i 211000 miles The Oct 26 flyby will be much closer at a distance of 746 miles AP Needlepoint The September issue of Natural History reports that hummingbirds ex-I pand their long needle-! like bills to catch insects Hummingbirds need daily helpings of insects and snagging such prey I is made possible by a 1 bone in the lower beak i that can twist and bend when the lower bill I opens far enough vyc Bail ii set I A magistrate gives two -5 mosque leaders suspected I of promoting terrorism i $250000 bail each citing weak evidence ji f1 -V BY JAMIE TALAN STAFF WRITER The conventional wisdom that a emotional burden is lightened when the ailing relative enters a long-term care facility may have been a misconception a new study suggests Caretakers continue to suffer from depression and anxiety lnnp after the daily demands of canng for the loved one have ceased according to University of Pittsburgh researchers who followed more than a thousand families They report" their finding in issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association Earlier studies have shown that caregivers are at increased risk of illnesses presumably be-cause of unabated stress and paying less attention to their own medical needs There had been a presumption that home caregiving generated the biggest emotional and physical burden one that was presumed lifted when caregiving was turned over to professionals Richard Schulz a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsbuzijh School of Medicine and ms colleagues found that almost half the caregivers registered signs of depression after relinquishing a loved one to a long-term care setting The study also found that daily nursing home visits appear to add emotional weight now rtimighr about how to help this caregiver Schulz said in a telephone inters view Many are Jpft with guilt that they have broken promises to a loved me and have less control over their daily care he said "These symptoms be ignored Caregivers would benefit from There are 45 million Americans with Alzheimer's a number expected to swell as the Baby Boomers During the four-year study which tracked 1222 caregivers 180 people were placed in nursing homes The patients had an average age of 80 caregivers av- eraged 63 African-Americans were found less likely to institutionalize their loved ones Spouse caregivers reported more depression and anxiety than liiii fhiMrfn fir ivhjr fami- ly caregivers course you become depressed" said Harriet Block of Floral Park whose husband of 60 years has had Alzheimer's since 1995 Cy Block 85 lived at home until last year Harriet Block said she held her life together by forging friendships and keepmg busy affects everyone around the person" she said Max Nichols a writer who lives in Manhattan said he escaped depression by building a family support network when his wife Mickey developed Alzheimer's She was 57 a music therapist when signs of the illness appeared She lived at home for next six years kept her very Nichols said volunteered every day for years into her illness We worked at keeping her feeling good about herself" NEWSDAY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 25 2004 Celebrating Your Loved Ones life With Online Stories Tributes Find Out More CaU: 631-843-3162.