Lorenzo's Oil Case Study

Lorenzo’s Odone, a young intelligent boy who lived in Comoro Island. Comoro Island is a volcanic island situated off the south east coast of Africa. Lorenzo’s family stayed there because of his dad Augusto Odone’s job. Lorenzo had many friends there including his best friend Omouri. Lorenzo, his mother Michaela and his dad Augusto moved back to the United States. Michela and Lorenzo’s teachers started seeing strange things Lorenzo would do. Lorenzo would through fits and get angry out of nowhere, after a while Lorenzo’s parents took him to the doctor. When they went to the doctor Lorenzo was diagnosed with ALD, he was expected to only live for two years. After being diagnosed Lorenzo grew very weak and needy. In his early stages Lorenzo was …show more content…
As they researched the came across animal experiments, questioning top doctors over the world and even organizing an international event about the disease. Although Lorenzo’s parents were depressed and desperate they didn’t give up. Michaela and Augusto contacted over 100 firms around the world until they found a very old chemist named Dr. Don Suddaby from Britain working for Croda International. Dr. Don didn’t mind the challenge of distilling the proper formula. Lorenzo’s oil is a combination of a 4:1 mix of oleic acid and erucic acid extracted from reassessed oil and olive oil designed to normalize the accumulation of the very long chain of fatty acids in the brain there by slowing the progression of ALD. Finally the oil was finished so Lorenzo’s parents used Cristina as a test monkey before they put it in Lorenzo’s diet. It was a success for Cristina. They started Lorenzo on the oil diet and immediately saw results. Once Lorenzo’s levels were normal the Odone’s started their friend’s child on the oil to prevent it because he had the gene. For other boys who carried the gene but who had not yet developed the symptoms, the oil was later found to reduce the risk of developing the full blown