He had reported feeling unsteady over the past several months, culminating in repeated falls in recent weeks. In the three days leading up to his hospital visit, his left arm and leg had noticeably weakened.
Still, there were no red flags in the man's medical history. He didn't smoke. He rarely drank. A blood test detected nothing abnormal.
"There was no confusion, facial weakness, visual or speech disturbance," doctors stated in a summary of the man's case published Feb. 27 in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports. "He was otherwise fit and well, independent with physical activities of daily living .