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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Why a URI study is examining the link between ADHD and alcohol use disorder
Stamates spoke to the Globe about the study, the work of URI's Q. What do we know about the link between ADHD and alcohol use disorder right now? Advertisement Stamates: That 18 to 25 [year old] period when people are transitioning to young adulthood ... there hasn't been as much research focused to that age range. And so what we do know is that the folks who continue to have symptoms related to ADHD into adulthood, they're at higher risk for developing a substance use disorder. If they do receive treatment, they usually have poor treatment outcomes, so they're more likely to relapse. If they have to go to an inpatient facility, they have a longer stay at that facility, and so it just increases the risk of having more symptoms related to substance use disorders and less … improved treatment outcomes. Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up "What we are examining is their executive functioning skills … and how that relates to the development of alcohol use disorder symptoms," URI psychology professor Amy Stamates said. University of Rhode Island What will your research explore? We just wrapped up year three. What we are looking at is among college students who have ADHD, we're comparing them to college students who do not have ADHD. What we are examining is their executive functioning skills … and how that relates to the development of alcohol use disorder symptoms. So there are certain symptoms that we might look for, things like craving, and then are they experiencing any problems related to their drinking? And so we're looking at that over [a] one-year period through some different technological advances that we have in research. Advertisement With executive functioning, it's a really complicated thing to study. Executive functioning skills are really important, cognitive skills that we need for daily functioning. So we use these every day to solve problems and make decisions. We're processing information, we're learning how to control our behavior, and obviously folks with ADHD might have issues with some of these skills, but that doesn't look the same for everybody with ADHD. And so what we're looking at is what specific types of executive functioning are important for the young adults with ADHD, and how do these relate to their substance use problems. This study is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. With all the federal cutbacks to research funding , are you concerned about whether that will impact your work ? I think everyone's concerned about how this will impact their research. I think that for this particular focus, substance use problems, they're not going away. I think that NIH will continue to fund this type of work, but we don't really know what the budgets are going to look like long term. You're also the director of URI's Health and Alcohol-Related Problems Lab. Can you tell me a little bit about what the lab does? Advertisement We're really interested in different approaches to studying substance use problems, and so in my lab ... we actually give participants alcohol in the lab to see how they respond to it. And so what we're looking at is if I give you alcohol in the lab, how does that impact your decision-making in the lab, how does that impact your motivation to drink more alcohol? We look at that behaviorally in the lab. The other thing that we do in my work is a data collection method called ecological momentary assessment. And this type of method has become critical to looking at substance use behavior, because participants download an app on their phone and then we just send them surveys throughout the day to ask them, where are you? Who are you with? Did you use substances? We ask things about like, if you're at a party did you drive? Do you have a designated driver? And then the next morning, we might ask things about, you know, do you have a hangover? Did you black out last night? So we're getting more detailed information about what actually is going on, versus when they come in the lab. What about our relationship with alcohol concerns you most? And are there glimmers of hope in improving our relationship? Researchers don't do a good job at talking about the risk associated with alcohol, and a lot of people don't know that alcohol use is a carcinogen. It increases the risk of cancer, other health issues and different types of chronic disease, and I think a lot of that isn't common knowledge among folks. Advertisement The other part that's hopeful is …. younger adolescents and younger adults right now are engaging in less alcohol use than traditionally. Part of that could be because there's other things going on — they're not going out, they're isolating in their house, or they're not actually going to parties and things like that, but we're generally seeing a downward trend. So I think that's hopeful. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The Boston Globe's weekly Ocean State Innovators column features a Q&A with Rhode Island innovators who are starting new businesses and nonprofits, conducting groundbreaking research, and reshaping the state's economy. Send tips and suggestions to reporter Alexa Gagosz at . Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Boston Globe
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
After 13 months homeless, a R.I. writer finds ‘sanctuary' thanks to 3,300 strangers
Lily — who'd once been starving and mangy, tied to a fence in Texas — seemed to believe him, he said. 'And when we got here — she's loving it," Fealey said on a recent morning as Lily rested on a couch in a townhouse in southern Rhode Island where they now live with Fealey's girlfriend, Lane McDonald. Advertisement Fealey now has a place to call home thanks to Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up In the 9,000-word piece, Fealey, 57, a University of Rhode Island graduate and former journalist, described how police rapped on his car window late at night, how security guards ordered him to leave store parking lots, how he feared for his life when a stranger came up behind him in a vacant lot at 3 a.m. The article grabbed the attention of a Narragansett family, who took it upon themselves to track down Fealey, find him shelter, and set up a GoFundMe page. 'My kids love Rhode Island, and they said, 'Oh, my God, Mom, this could be any of us,'' Janice Mathews Advertisement As of Thursday night, 'We are happy that he has a roof over his head and that his life is better,' Mathews said this week. Fealey said, 'It just shows you how many good-hearted people there are out there. It's very heartening and just positive because in these times — with the things that are going on and we're living in a totalitarian democracy — that there's people out there who give a s--t." The Esquire article came out at a time when when 653,104 people were experiencing homelessness across the United States, according to the The number of homeless people in Rhode Island had risen to 2,442 people ― according to a Fealey said the response to his article reflects a widespread concern about the housing crisis. 'Everyone's being affected by it, except a certain higher realm,' he said. 'People know that they're not living as well as they once did, or as they expected. And there's whole generations that are not going to get houses, the way things are going.' Fealey and McDonald moved into the townhouse, which they began renting in May. On a recent morning, a bouquet of sunflowers burst from a vase, and container of sea glass rested on the kitchen table. McDonald said Fealey wakes up early and writes, she paints and works from home, and Lily enjoys walking on nearby trails and beaches. Advertisement McDonald, who'd been struggling to afford rent in Narragansett and living with her parents, said that if a fortune teller had looked into a crystal ball a year ago — showing them living 'in this beautiful place,' no longer worried about whether Fealey is safe — she wouldn't have believed it. 'It's still unbelievable,' she said. 'It's a dream. It's coming out of a nightmare, and it's a dream.' Lane McDonald, left, and Patrick Fealey take Lily for a walk near their home. David L Ryan/ Globe Staff Fealey said he finally feels at peace. 'When I was homeless, I was on high alert all the time,' he said. 'I now feel safe and more at ease, calmer. I think most people feel good when they come home from whatever they are doing. Home is, or should be, a sanctuary. I have that now and am so grateful.' But Fealey is concerned about his health. After contracting Lyme disease, he underwent tests and was told he was close to kidney failure. He attributed that to psychiatric medications he has been taking for years and the stress of being homeless. Fealey has said he was stricken at age 29 with what he describes as 'a violent and disabling onset of manic depression.' For the next 26 years, he got by on a mix of eight medications, traveling the country while banging out literary fiction on a 1939 Smith Corona Clipper typewriter. Fealey said he relied on Medicaid for those psychiatric medications. 'That was my lifeline,' he said. 'I have medications I need, or I will basically kill myself. They are keeping me alive.' Now, Fealey said he is worried that millions will lose Medicaid since Advertisement " That's gonna be more really sick people in the street," Fealey said. 'What's happening in America?' Patrick Fealey is now living in a townhouse in Rhode Island. David L Ryan/ Globe Staff When he was living in his car, Fealey wrote the Esquire article while using the back of his Paul Reed Smith acoustic guitar as a desk. Now, he has a desk in a sun-filled room. Fealey said he has written a nonfiction book about his experience of being homeless, and over the years he has written 14 novels. He said talked to one agent but it wasn't the right fit. So he is now looking for an agent. He said he needs to sell his books so he doesn't end up homeless again. Meanwhile, a play is being written about Fealey's experience. O'Brien, who lives in Los Angeles, said the Advertisement 'Like so many, I was deeply moved by Patrick's essay in Esquire,' O'Brien said. He said he felt 'lots of points of connection' with Fealey's story, and having the essay about his brother in the same issue 'seemed like serendipity or kismet.' O'Brien said he 'kind of staggered' by the quality of Fealey's writing. 'His essay makes personal and human a subject that is too often ignored,' he said, 'and I've always felt compelled to write plays about taboo subjects — problems a culture would rather deny or vilify than reckon with." With housing costs skyrocketing and more people becoming homeless, the situation seems unsustainable, O'Brien said. 'It will be a political play — not at the expense of telling a human story — but it will impart a lot of reality and instigate a desire to change things," he said. O'Brien said there's talk of how empathy is in short supply these days. But, he said, 'His story kind of forced us, or me at least, to feel empathy rather than being overwhelmed or having my eyes glaze over with statistics. That could be me or someone I know and love.' Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
American Press
08-07-2025
- General
- American Press
Merilyn Mackintosh Carr
Merilyn Mackintosh Carr, 93, of Vinton, La. passed away on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at her residence. She was born to her late parents, Bentley and Florence Mackintosh on March 23, 1932 in Taunton, Mass. She went to Stephens College for two years, then transferred to the University of Rhode Island where she graduated with a B.A. in Sociology. She lived in New Orleans from 1960 until Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. She then moved to Vinton, La. where her oldest daughter lives. In her earlier years, she enjoyed playing golf, and doing outside recreational activities. She played the bugle and the trumpet. She was Past President of Methodist Hospital Auxiliary in New Orleans, La. and Past President of PTA of Our Savior Lutheran School in New Orleans, La. She is survived by her children, James I. Carr III (Karen) of Metairie, La., Susan Carr Pickett (Kevin) of Vinton, La., Catherine Hitchcock (Mark) of Clayton, Ga., and Lynn Kittle (Fred) of Euharlee, Ga.; brother-in-law, Andrew C. Carr (Roberta) of Novato, Calif., along with her grandchildren, James I Carr IV, Amanda Nicholas, Andre Pickett, Kaitlyn Pickett, Michael Pickett, John Paul Pickett, Hayley Campbell, Dane Shell, Catherine Kittle, Fredrick Kittle III, Andrew Kittle, Cynthia Kittle, Donald Kittle, and Charlotte Kittle; along with 17 great-grandchildren, and one on the way. Merilyn is preceded in death by her husband, Dr. James I. Carr Jr., along with her brother, Gilbert Newton Mackintosh. A celebration of Merilyn's life will be held at a later date. Words of comfort may be shared with the family at
Boston Globe
07-07-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
New England is seeing one of its worst tick seasons in years
New Englanders are used to dealing with a vast assortment of ticks, including Lone Star ticks, deer ticks that carry Lyme disease, and American dog ticks that can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. But this season is shaping up to be a particularly bad one, with a surge of tick-borne diseases and tick exposures across the country, especially in the Northeast. Related : Advertisement In June, visits to emergency rooms for tick bites reached their highest levels in at least five years in New England and other nearby states, according to data from the The trend is similar in Massachusetts. According to monthly records published by the state's department of public health, Advertisement Massachusetts State Epidemiologist Dr. Catherine Brown said that although the data doesn't capture visits to urgent care and primary care providers for tick exposure, it points to a real increase in interactions between ticks and humans in the state. 'This year is definitely an outlier for us,' Brown said. Thomas Mather, director of the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Diseases, said that higher levels of tick-borne diseases in New England are mostly caused by higher numbers of blacklegged, or deer tick, nymphs. The nymphs are around the size of a poppy seed, and about 20 percent of them in the New England region carry Lyme, Mather said. They thrive in humid weather. 'It's not related to how warm it is in the winter … if it's dry in the early spring when they first emerge, they start dying,' Mather said. 'Whenever there were low-humidity episodes early in the season in late May and early June, we always had fewer ticks and fewer disease cases.' All in all, New England is seeing more humidity in the spring and summer now compared to the previous two decades, said Ken Mahan, the Globe's lead meteorologist. This is a direct result of a warming atmosphere because warmer temperatures hold more moisture. 'When dew points push above 65, that's when a big change in available moisture can be felt,' said Mahan. '[There has been an] increasing trend in the number of 70-degree dew point days across Boston over the years.' Advertisement Deer tick populations are also positively correlated with the populations of small rodents and deer, the animals that serve as their most important food sources. Mather said that the migration of Lone Star ticks, which were formerly common only in the South, over the past five years has been the biggest change in the trend of tick-borne diseases in New England. Mather runs an 'Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts are right on the edge of the northward expansion of these ticks … Martha's Vineyard and Narragansett Bay are completely infested with them,' Mather said. Allison Cameron Parry, a professional bodybuilder and mother of two who lives on Martha's Vineyard, said that almost everyone in her family has Alpha-gal. After giving up meat and dairy, she has had to work harder to supplement those nutrients, which are necessary for her athletic training. Related : Cameron Parry also said she was worried about her 3-year-old son playing outside. 'Long grass literally gives me anxiety … We use a natural spray in our yard, because I have a young child. Unfortunately, the smaller the child, the bigger the risk, because they don't know to stay out of the bush,' Cameron Parry said. At a virtual panel held by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health last week, experts from Harvard and Boston University spoke about preventing tick-borne diseases. Advertisement Richard Pollack, senior environmental public health officer at Harvard University, recommended that people treat their clothes with permethrin, an EPA-registered tick repellent derived from an ingredient found in chrysanthemums. Pollack also advised people to 'You don't necessarily need to go to the emergency room to have somebody pull the tick off. You might be sitting for six hours, in some cases, before you're actually seen,' Pollack said. 'So just pull the tick off, save it, and then you can delve into what it was later.' Dr. Daniel Solomon, infectious disease specialist at Mass General Brigham, recommends that people take the antibiotic doxycycline within 72 hours of removing a tick that was attached to their skin. 'By the book, the CDC would say that the tick needs to be attached for 36 hours or more [for a patient to take the antibiotic], but we don't know when ticks attach,' Solomon said. 'So if there's a tick attached, it's plausible that it could have been on there for a day or more, so take a single dose of doxycycline.' Brown, the state epidemiologist, said the increase in tick exposure should not discourage people from enjoying the outdoors. She recommended people use tick repellents, wear light-colored, long-sleeved clothing so it's easier to spot and remove ticks, and put their clothes in the dryer on high heat after returning home to kill ticks that are hard to see. Advertisement For pets, Pollack said that there were oral medications for dogs as well as topical ointments that can be applied at the back of the neck once a month to prevent tick bites. Patrick and Lily Marvin of Topsfield have three golden retrievers and have noticed more ticks on their dogs this summer when they go for hikes in Beverly. Two summers ago in Nantucket, one of the dogs, Kevin, contracted Lyme disease despite wearing a medicated collar. 'He was lethargic, didn't want to eat, and would cry whenever we gave him antibiotics,' Patrick said. He has since recovered, and the Marvins have been proactive about giving their dogs chewable tablets to keep them safe from ticks. The speakers at the panel also noted that there are vaccines in the works to fight tick-borne diseases. A This is welcome news to McCormack. 'Ticks are scary because they're so small and they carry such life-altering diseases,' she said. Angela Mathew can be reached at
Miami Herald
24-06-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
What do leopard seals eat in Antarctic waters? Whiskers provide surprising answer
From a dish made by your hometown restaurant to candy you searched for on Halloween, most people have an all-time favorite food. Humans are omnivores with a diverse diet, but there is still a large amount of individuality when it comes to food choice. Now, researchers are learning that other creatures in the animal kingdom may feel the same way. A research team led by Baylor University and the University of Rhode Island took a closer look at one of Antarctica's apex predators to better understand their feeding preferences in a study published June 23 in the peer-reviewed journal Ecology and Evolution. Leopard seals have long been thought of as 'generalist' predators, feeding on both penguins and other seal species as well as fish, krill, octopus and squid, according to the study. On one island off the Western Antarctic Peninsula, leopard seals eat as many as 70% of Antarctic fur seal pups each year, severely impacting their declining population, researchers said. The team noticed, however, that there were many other prey options for the leopard seals in the same geographic area, which made them wonder whether despite being generalist hunters, individual animals were showing prey specialization, according to the study. To test the theory, researchers analyzed the isotopes in the individual whiskers of leopard seals to identify their prey sources over a period of multiple years, according to a June 24 news release from the Georgia Aquarium, which was involved in the study. Leopard seals were sedated and their whiskers collected over a period of 10 years until 2023 through the U.S. Antarctic Marine Living Resources Program monitoring the ecosystem at Cape Shirreff on Livingston Island, according to the study. Researchers measured the amount of nitrogen and carbon in the whiskers, which tells them the kinds of animals the leopard seals have eaten in the past few years. Both nitrogen and carbon concentrations increase as they move up the trophic levels, or the food chain. For example, if a fish has a small amount of nitrogen, but then a seal eats many fish, the seal's percentage of nitrogen will be higher, indicating their place on the food chain in what is called bioaccumulation. A total of 34 leopard seals were included in the study, and their analysis yielded 'surprising' results, the aquarium said. 'The researchers found that while some seals maintained the same diet year after year, others switched trophic levels — moving between eating smaller prey like krill and targeting larger animals like penguins or seals,' according to the release. In total, 87% of the leopard seals were what researchers called 'specialists or intermediates,' meaning they stuck to a smaller selection of prey than they were capable of eating, while only 13% of the leopard seals were considered true 'generalists,' according to the study. Researchers suggest this may be to decrease the amount of competition between leopard seals if they are not overlapping prey, according to the study, but this puts a significant strain on individual prey species that have become leopard seal favorites. 'A few specialists can help shape entire ecosystems,' study author Patrick Charapata of the Georgia Aquarium said in the release. 'Understanding these patterns in leopard seals and other top predators can help us better predict and manage changes to prey populations and the greater ecosystem these species live in.' The Western Antarctic Peninsula is south of South America, across the Drake Passage. The research team includes Charapata, Emily S. Sperou, Douglas J. Krause, Renato Borras-Chavez, Daniel P. Costa, Daniel E. Crocker, Kerri J. Smith, Bradley Thompson, Azana Best, Jaelyn Anderson, Michael E. Goebel, Carolina A. Bonin and Sarah S. Kienle.
