Mark Zaidi

Scientific Literature Review: X-linked Adrenoleukodystrophy Mark Zaidi

Excerpt from the year 2014 in the subject Medicine - Other, , language: English, abstract: In 1984, there was a young boy named Lorenzo Odone. He was a gifted child who was fluent in not only English, but French and Italian as well. Unfortunately, shortly after his 6th birthday, he experienced several unusual symptoms, such as speech problems, worsening hand-eye coordination, and decreased hearing. His mother recalls the day during which she was reading him a story, and as he snuggled up to her, Lorenzo complained that he could not hear well. Shortly after that, Lorenzo was diagnosed with X-linked Adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). X-ALD is a rare and irreversible disease, which progressively degrades the brain and nervous system. Doctors had given him 2 years left to live. However, his father, Augusto, was not ready to give up. Regardless of having no prior medical knowledge, Augusto devoted his life to finding a cure for X-ALD. Even though he was unable to cure Lorenzo (and X-ALD for that matter), he managed to prolong his life for two decades, thanks to a medicine he invented, named "Lorenzo's oil", in memory of his son. This story is an example of how one man's love for his son sparked scientific research in the treatment of a debilitating disorder. Even though there is no strong scientific proof that Lorenzo's oil helps decrease the effects of X-ALD, it undoubtedly increased the quality of Lorenzo's life.