Skip to main content
Open this photo in gallery:

The Moncton city hospital, on Oct. 8, 2020.Marc Grandmaison/The Canadian Press

New Brunswick is opening a special clinic for patients suffering from an unknown brain disease that has affected at least 47 people in the province and killed six.

Symptoms of the unknown neurological disorder include rapidly progressing dementia, muscle spasms and atrophy. The Health Department says most of the patients at the time of their referrals were living around the Moncton, N.B., area and the Acadian Peninsula.

In New Brunswick, experts try to figure out why dozens have been affected by a mystery brain disease

The Horizon Health Network announced Thursday it opened the Special Neurodegenerative Disorder Clinic for patients with rapid or early-onset cognitive decline.

The health authority says the clinic at The Moncton Hospital will focus on assessing patients suspected of having the mysterious brain disease.

Horizon says it’s expected physicians will see 16 to 20 patients per week in the clinic.

The provincial government launched a website Tuesday evening offering details about what is known so far on the illness.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe