Robert Laureno, MD, an expert in acquired metabolic disease of the nervous system, is Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center (WHC), and Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC
Dr. Laureno has published extensively in the fields of neurology and internal medicine, including a book. He has authored numerous articles on the subject of central pontine myelinolysis, a brain disease caused by correction of hyponatremia. In pre-clinical research, Dr. Laureno discovered the cause of pontine myelinolysis; subsequent human studies corroborated his pre-clinical findings and resulted in new methods of patient management.
As a result of his wide-ranging interest in acquired metabolic diseases. Dr. Laureno has written about neurologic manifestations of other electrolyte disorders, hyponatremia, hypocalcemia, hypercalcemia, hypokalemia, hyperkalemia, hypermagnesemia, and hypophosphatemia. He also has written about the neurologic manifestations of thyroid disease, and has a particular interest in the neurologic manifestations of alcoholism.
Although most widely known for his study of acquired metabolic disease of the nervous system, Dr Laureno has performed and supported research on stroke, especially with his colleagues in cardiology, who are investigating carotid artery stenting and echocardiography in relationship to cerebrovascular disease. He has directed numerous courses for the American Academy of Neurology, has reviewed important neurology books for the New England Journal of Medicine, and has been a visiting professor at numerous medical schools and hospitals. In addition to his ongoing studies of myelinolysis, his current research includes studies of asterixis and nutritional brain disease. Dr. Laureno received his medical education from Cornell University Medical College in New York City. He completed his internship at Grady Memorial Hospital (Emory University), Atlanta, Ga. He served as a Neurology Resident at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital (Case Western Reserve University) and as a fellow at The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
Research Interests
Dr. Laureno's research interests include
Metabolic disease of the nervous systemCentral pontine myelinolysisAsterixisNutritional brain diseaseResearch Areas
- Neuroscience