George Augusto Ricaurte Jr., MD

Dr. George Ricaurte has a weekly clinic that focuses on Parkinsons disease and other movement disorders. In addition, he attends on the consult and in-patient neurology services at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Dr. Ricaurte's research interests center on amphetamine-type stimulants and their potential to damage brain monoamine-containing neurons, including dopamine neurons (which degenerate in Parkinsons disease). Dr. Ricaurte and his colleagues are particularly interested in mechanisms of dopamine nerve cell degeneration. The long-term goal of this neurotoxicology research is to help find ways to prevent - or retard - the progression of Parkinsons disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Ricaurtes work also has implications for the drug abuse field and substance abuse neuropsychiatric disorders.

Dr. George Ricaurte received his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and his doctorate in Pharmacology from the University of Chicago. He then completed his residency in neurology at Stanford University Medical Center and did a one year fellowship at the Parkinsons Institute in California.