Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Schwartz

Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Schwartz is an internationally recognized neurologist and neuroradiologist with particular expertise in stroke medicine, neurological intensive care, movement disorders, epilepsy, and advanced imaging of the central nervous system. His dual specialist qualifications in neurology and diagnostic radiology with subspecialization in neuroradiology allow him to combine extensive clinical neurological experience with comprehensive expertise in modern neuroimaging.

Today, Prof. Schwartz serves as Senior Consultant in Neurology at the INI – International Neuroscience Institute®. He conducts regular consultations in the neurological outpatient clinic and also provides specialist expertise within the INI’s Department of Neuroradiology.

His principal clinical interests include the primary and secondary prevention of cerebrovascular disease and stroke, central movement disorders such as Parkinsonian syndromes and blepharospasm, epilepsy, and immune-mediated neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barré syndrome. He also has longstanding experience in the diagnosis and treatment of back pain and disorders affecting the spine.

Within neuroradiology, Prof. Schwartz provides particular expertise in computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and spine. His work also includes image-guided diagnostic and therapeutic procedures involving the spine, such as periradicular interventions.

Prof. Schwartz studied medicine at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and received his medical doctorate in 1980 for research on the development of a vaccine against dengue type II virus infection.

He subsequently completed specialist training in neurology, followed by specialist training in diagnostic radiology with subspecialization in neuroradiology. At the Department of Neurology of the University of Düsseldorf under Prof. Hans-Joachim Freund, he was appointed Senior Physician and completed his habilitation in neurology, with particular emphasis on neuroradiological methods and innovative techniques for endoscopic vascular diagnostics.

In 1990, Prof. Schwartz was appointed Professor of Neurology at Heidelberg University. At the University Department of Neurology in Mannheim, he served as Deputy Director and headed the cerebrospinal fluid laboratory.

From August 2000, Prof. Schwartz served as Chief Physician of the Department of Neurology at Klinikum Nordstadt, part of Klinikum Region Hannover. From 2013 to 2018, he additionally headed the Department of Neurology at KRH Klinikum Agnes Karll Laatzen.

Under his leadership, modern stroke care was substantially expanded at both institutions. At Klinikum Nordstadt, he developed the stroke service into a certified supraregional Stroke Unit with 14 beds and established a tele-neurology network connecting additional regional hospitals.

From 2006 to 2015, Prof. Schwartz also served as Medical Director of Klinikum Nordstadt. Alongside his clinical responsibilities, he remained strongly committed to academic teaching, including regular teaching activities at Heidelberg University and responsibility for the clinical training of medical students from Hannover Medical School at Klinikum Nordstadt.

His principal scientific interest is stroke research. Over more than two decades, Prof. Schwartz served as Principal Investigator in numerous major clinical trials investigating intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy. His scientific work comprises approximately 210 peer-reviewed publications.

Prof. Schwartz is also the author of the textbook Systematische Neurologie and has contributed to numerous textbooks in neurology, internal medicine, and neuroradiology. He previously served on the Editorial Board of Cerebrovascular Diseases.

Prof. Schwartz is board-certified in neurology and holds an additional qualification in specialized neurological intensive care medicine. He is also board-certified in diagnostic radiology with subspecialty expertise in neuroradiology. This unusual combination enables him to assess complex neurological disorders from clinical examination and advanced imaging through to stroke and neurocritical care.

He is a member of the German Society of Neurology (DGN) and the German Society of Neuroradiology (DGNR) and has been active in numerous additional national and international neurological, neuroradiological, and neurophysiological professional societies. In 2014, he served as Congress President of the annual meeting of the German Society for Neurocritical Care and Emergency Medicine (DGNI) in Hannover.

His work at the INI combines decades of clinical neurological experience with particular expertise in stroke medicine, neurocritical care, and neuroradiology. This interdisciplinary perspective enables a particularly comprehensive assessment of complex neurological and neuroradiological conditions.