The Sunday Mail
Debra Matabvu – Sunday Mail Reporter
The University of Zimbabwe is developing a memory-enhancing drug which also “makes the brain sharper”, an innovation that will largely benefit Alzheimer’s Disease patients.
Though work time lines could not be established, the project feeds into the higher learning institution’s vision of becoming one of the foremost research hubs.
The university celebrates its 60th anniversary in May with 63 internationally-recognised HIV studies and numerous other scientific innovations to its credit. UZ Vice-Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura said drug development would create employment and wealth. He, however, declined giving further details on the project.
“The university has been developing a business culture, a culture of wealth-creation. We have already embarked on an incubation project: incubate some researches, commercialise them, make money and even create jobs.
“We have already set incubation centres and we are doing a lot of things there. For example, we have come up with a drug that can revive your memory. You take the drug, you trigger the brain and you begin to tick.
“You can start remembering things that were disappearing from your mind.
‘‘Imagine the global attention we will receive if we commercialise such ideas and researches. You can also imagine the amount of money we will be able to make as an institution and as a country.” Alzheimer’s Disease results from brain tissue changes and accounts for up to 65 percent of dementia cases.
Dementia is a brain disorder that affects memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion.
Over 20 000 Zimbabweans and 35 million other people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease, according to Zarda.
