George A. Ricaurte
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George A. Ricaurte is a neurology researcher who works at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Department of Neurology. He received his doctorate in Pharmacology from the University of Chicago.
His research focuses on Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. His work center on amphetamine-type stimulants and their potential to damage brain monoamine-containing neurons, including dopamine neurons (which degenerate in Parkinson’s disease). The long-term goal of this neurotoxicology research is to help find ways to prevent – or retard – the progression of Parkinson’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. His work also has implications for the drug abuse field and substance abuse neuropsychiatric disorders.
He is infamous in the drug community for his retracted article on the neurotoxicity of ecstasy. One issue brought up by his research is the sense in repeated massive dosings of animals to prove toxicity. While some experiments of this nature may give important results or ideas as to mode of action, or repair of possible damage, or blockage of damage, they can end up proving very little when it comes to the effect of standard doses. Yet for idea as to inherent toxicity of standard doses of various biochemicals it can also be just as valuable to repeatedly experiment in dosing the various test subjects of single or mixed sexes and species with standard normal doses, sometimes just one or a few doses, other times many many standard doses either rapidly in succession or with time for rest, and then look for damage.
