stroke or not

I have a family friend that had the symptoms nauesa, incoherant speech, profuse sweating and eventually ended up on the floor buy the time he got to the hospital the speech was slurred and he had parylasis on one side. The CT scann showed no evidence of a blood clot but his condition has worsen he now has parylsis on both sides?

[Christopher R Newey, DO]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

Weakness, confused speech, etc, as you describe, may be related to a vascular event such as a stroke. CT heads are good in the acute phase particularly if you are concerned about bleeding. However, they are not sensitive in identifying strokes in the acute phase. I would recommend that your friend have an MRI of her/his brain to evaluate further. Additionally, does your friend have any medical history, neurological history of seizures, etc, history of low back pain? There are other causes of weakness rather than stroke. I would suggest that your friend follow up with his/her PCP closely to evaluate further; or if still admitted, obtain a neurology consutl.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.