JOHANNESBURG - The University of Cape Town and the Western Cape government are opening a groundbreaking neuroscience centre at Groote Schuur Hospital.

The new institute will fast-track novel treatments for neurological and mental disorders.

This state-of-the-art facility is a first for the continent.

It will focus on diagnosing and treating neurological challenges facing Africans.

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Brain health is one of the key things that we need to protect for us to actually develop Africa in any way. Therefore the Neuroscience Institute serves as one of the first institutions that have been set up that can address local issues that affect brain health, said Rachael Dangarembizi, UCT lecturer in Neurophysiology.

The centre was conceived in 2015, and it's expected to be fully operational in May.

The idea is to get academic activities going and bring in people from a range of backgrounds, not only from the medical school and the health science faculty, but also from other campuses, said professor Graham Fieggen, UCT Neuroscience Director.

The facility won't only be treating patients.

It will provide invaluable training to UCT medical students.

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UCT's neuroscience centre first of its kind - eNCA