Media Coverage

John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics and medical director of UB’s Concussion Management Clinic, was quoted in news outlets commented on a study finding increased levels of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder with mild traumatic brain injury, noting: “All in all, I think it's a good study for helping to predict who is at risk for depression and PTSD after a traumatic brain injury sustained in a car accident or from an assault," he said, "but the results cannot be generalized to athletes with a sport concussion."

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics has found that adolescent athletes who sustained concussions while playing a sport recovered more quickly when they underwent a supervised, aerobic exercise regimen. First author on the study is John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics. Senior author on the study is Barry S. Willer, PhD, professor of psychiatry. Leddy is the director of the University at Buffalo Concussion Management Clinic and Willer is the director of research. Their findings contradict the conventional approach to concussion, and an editorial accompanying the publication has called the work “a landmark study that may shift the standard of care.”

A study by John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics, and Barry S. Willer, PhD, professor of psychiatry, published in JAMA Pediatrics shows that adolescents who followed a supervised, sub-symptom threshold aerobic exercise program after sustaining a sport-related concussion recovered more quickly than adolescents with concussion who did simple stretches. “We think exercise actually restores control to the autonomic nervous system, which is clearly affected by concussion,” Leddy said.

A story about the death four years ago of former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Steve Montador, who was diagnosed after his passing with CTE, the neurodegenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma, interviews John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics and director of UB’s Concussion Management Clinic, who coauthored a study that called into question the role of contact sports in CTE. “When we tested them formally and compared them to control athletes, we found no significant evidence of cognitive differences,” he said. “Clearly this is not a phenomenon that you’re inevitably going to get. CTE is real. It happens to some players. The problem we have right now is that based on our current science, we don’t know who is at risk for it.”

A new study by John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics and director of UB’s Concussion Management Clinic, and Barry S. Willer, PhD, professor of psychiatry, found that teens who suffer a sports-related concussion are likely to improve more quickly if they start aerobic exercise within a few days under the guidance of a health care specialist. “The data provide preliminary evidence that a primary benefit of early subthreshold exercise treatment is a reduced incidence of delayed recovery (greater than 30 days), which is potentially a very important result,” the authors write.

Nearly one year ago, hockey goalie David Leggio — who represented the United States at the 2018 Olympics — suffered a life-changing concussion. “To be honest, I didn’t know if, one, I would be able to play hockey anymore following that injury, and, two, if it was the best thing for me to do,” said Leggio. One of his medical care providers was John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics, who directs the University at Buffalo Concussion Management Clinic. Leddy developed a rehab plan for Leggio, and now Leggio is skating again and enjoying his 11th pro season.

John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics and director of the UB’s Concussion Management Clinic, is quoted in several articles about EyeBOX, a noninvasive tool created to help in the diagnosis of concussion. Leddy said the device could offer a solution by providing researchers with an objective oculomotor assessment tool.

An article about EyeBOX, a noninvasive tool created to help in the diagnosis of concussion, quotes John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics and medical director of UB’s Concussion Management Clinic. “Looking beyond this milestone, EyeBox has the potential to aid in the diagnosis of other neurological conditions and may benefit researchers developing therapies for TBI and concussion,” he said.

Evgeny A. Dyskin, MD, PhD, clinical assistant professor of orthopaedics, is performing a relatively new surgical procedure, intent on saving limbs of fracture patients. One of his patients is Allie Mazur, a UB senior who made a connection with Chicago Bears’ tight end Zach Miller because they suffered similar injuries.

An article about a new Ivy League football study that found that a small change in one area of the sport – kickoff rules – may lead to a significant reduction in concussion rates interviews John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics and director of the UB Concussion Management Clinic, who called the study “well-done” with findings that “make sense.” “It shows just how powerful rule changes can be in preventing concussions,” he said. "That’s important because you’re going to get concussions in football, but if you can develop rules that reduce the risk, then preventing concussion is much easier than treating concussion.” The story appeared on CNN affiliates around the country.

A broad overview of current research about concussions and advancements in the field quotes John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics and director of the UB’s Concussion Management Clinic.  “Believe it or not, we don’t have a gold-standard definition of what a concussion even is right now,” he said. “It remains a clinical diagnosis, that means it’s a diagnosis made by the history taken and the physical examination performed. There’s no one diagnostic test to confirm a concussion in everybody.”

Local and national media are reporting on a study published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation by UB concussion researchers John J. Leddy, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedics, and Barry S. Willer, PhD, professor of psychiatry. Their study found that 21 retired NFL and NHL players exhibited no signs of early onset dementia, which would have been expected if they were affected by the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which has been linked to athletes with a history of concussive or sub-concussive injuries.

Research by Heidi N. Suffoletto, MD, clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine and orthopaedics, found that wearable technologies designed to track and improve staffing levels in hospital emergency rooms can be helpful, but must be judiciously chosen.

Local orthopaedic surgeons are addressing the opioid crisis in Western New York. Leslie J. Bisson, MD, professor and chair of orthopaedics, organized a summit of 35 surgeons to discuss prescribing patterns. “We surveyed our own group and found there was huge variability,” he said. “Some were giving one type of pain medication of a certain number, others were giving twice as many. It was kind of all over the place, but because there wasn’t a lot of literature, it was more practice and habit-based.”

A story on ways that seniors can stay strong and avoid breaking a hip as they age interviews Christopher E. Mutty, MD, clinical assistant professor of orthopaedics and an orthopedic surgeon with UBMD Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. “A sedentary lifestyle certainly does promote bone resorption of minerals from the skeleton and we know that loading and using bone working out, exercise regularly, those kinds of things, maintains bone mass,” he said.