Lorenzo's Oil

The story begins in July 1983, when 5-year-old Lorenzo Odone and his parents vacation in Africa. Lorenzo made friends with all members of the Comoria tribe. A few months later at home in Washington,D.C., an odd change occurred in Lorenzo's behavior: He began to throw violent fits at school and at home. He also is injured in several accidents. Finally, they took him to a children's hospital,where Dr. Judalon ran tests that concluded that Lorenzo had adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a genetic disease passed on by mother to son. It only affects males and basically destroys the child's brain,impairing body functions. It continues to eat away at the brain and to destroy the myelin, killing the victim within two years. Because ALD was basically a newfound disease and not fully understandyet,there was no known cure. Augusto read up on all the horrifying symptoms: seizures, blindness, deafness, stupor and death. However, several scientists were trying some experimental approaches. One of them,Professor Gus Nikolais, put Lorenzo on a diet that eliminated a certain kind of saturated fats that are harmful in his condition. Some scientists in Boston were trying something calledimmunosuppression, which involved chemotherapy, so Lorenzo went on that; in a matter of months, his hair had fallen out, and he could barely walk or talk. Pretty soon, his condition got even worse. He becamebedridden and couldn't deal with his own saliva, needing a machine to do that.
The Odones heard from Loretta and Ellard Muscatine, founders of an ALD Foundation and went to a conference, where they metother parents whose sons had ALD. However, it proved a discouraging experience. Augusto did more research in the fields of biochemistry, neurology and other sciences. They tried an experiment with anolive oil that lacks the kind of fats that are harmful, and Lorenzo's blood fat level dropped 15% then 50% and stayed there. Augusto next tried an experiment with rapeseed oil. A doctor in London,...