A mysterious disease swept the world in the early 1920s that put people into catatonic states; stiff and immovable like human statues. It was called encephalitis lethargica and it affected over 5 million people worldwide, and then was almost forgotten.
Knowing what we know now, what do you suppose caused this?
Deniro and Robin Williams made a movie about a doctor in 1969 who used a drug to bring people out of their catatonic states that suffered this condition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awakenings