Her advanced skills include clinical neurology, neurophysiology and neuromuscular disorders. She has a particular interest in strokes and epilepsy and aims to educate the community at large about early recognition of these conditions and early presentation to the local health establishment for prompt intervention.
She is also a member of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society which provides continuous educational opportunities in the pattern recognition, investigation and treatment of movement disorders in clinical practice.
Born and raised in Gauteng, Dr Mashitela's academic journey began at Beverly Hills High School in Evaton, where she was not only a top ten learner in the Sedibeng West District but also a participant in the prestigious Harmony Gold South African Mathematics Olympiad.
After studying engineering for a year, she pivoted to what she describes as her true calling, pursuing a Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Pretoria, earning a Certificate of Merit as the best student in her third year. Her postgraduate education at the University of Witwatersrand was equally distinguished. Dr Mashitela completed her Master in Medicine in Neurology, alongside achieving her Fellowship in Neurology (FC Neurology – SA) from the Colleges of Medicine South Africa in 2021.
Dr Mashitela's professional experience is extensive and varied. It began in earnest in 2012 at Natalspruit Hospital, where she was recognised as the best overall intern.
Having served as a Medical Officer in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and as a General Practitioner at Sebokeng Hospital, her specialisation in Neurology was honed during her registrarship at the Chris Hani Baragwanath, Charlotte Maxeke, and Helen Joseph complex of hospitals, where she transitioned into a consultant role in January 2023.
Outside of her professional life, Dr Mashitela is a lover of the outdoors and cherishes the time spent with her family. An avid reader, she finds solace and inspiration within the pages of a good book. Her marriage and personal life are as fulfilling as her career, with each aspect reflecting her dedication to nurturing growth, whether in her patients, her family, or herself.
It is a brain condition characterized by recurrent seizures. Seizures are paroxysmal abnormal firing of the brain electrical activity and their semiology differs depending on which region of the brain they originate from. According to the International League Against Epilepsy 2017 revision they can be classified as focal, generalized or unknown onset. The causes are varied and can be idiopathic or secondary. According to the World Health Organisation there are about 50 million people globally living with epilepsy and about to 10% of people globally have had one seizure during their lifetime. Having had one seizure does not necessarily equate to an Epilepsy diagnosis.
Headache disorders are the most prevalent neurological conditions globally and can be disabling to those affected. The most common causes of the headache disorders are primary headaches which include but no limited to Migraine and tension type headaches. According to the Global Burden of disease in 2019 migraine was the second most common cause of disability among women of 50 years of age and below. The diagnosis of these primary disorders is guided by The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD -3).
Stroke is a condition which is caused by an abrupt interruption of blood flow to a region supplied by that vascular structure either arterial or venous leading to loss of function to the affected area. Majority of strokes are arterial and affect the brain causing loss of function to one side of the body with or without speech or language involvement. According to medical literature 85 to 90% of strokes are due to a clot formation either locally or migrating from either the heart or other blood vessel and 15 to 10% are due rupture of a blood vessel (hemorrhagic) causing blood leak into the brain.
A stroke due to a clot is a potentially treatable condition when medical attention is sought after as early as it is recognised (at onset of symptoms).
These are a group of disorders affecting the peripheral nervous system, they include conditions affecting the muscles termed myopathies, neuromuscular transmission like myasthenia gravis and nerve fibers termed neuropathies. They can be due to pure neurological processes or associated with other medical conditions like Diabetes mellitus or toxins like alcohol.
These are conditions that cause paucity of movement termed hypokinetic or excessive movement termed hyperkinetic movement disorders. The most common hypokinetic movement disorder is Idiopathic Parkinson’s disease which is characterized by resting tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity and postural instability. Hyperkinetic movement disorders are classified as dystonia, chorea, tremor, myoclonus and tic which have wide range of causes. The important character of these disorders is that they are involuntary (are not under conscious control).
