Lorenzo - Now Free From ALD

Fairfax VA.

5/30/08

Lorenzo Odone, whose story was told in the 1992 Hollywood movie "Lorenzo's Oil", starring Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte, has died in Fairfax, VA, one day after his 30th birthday. Lorenzo was diagnosed with Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) in 1984, aged 6. Doctors told his parents that the neurological disease would swiftly deprive him of all his faculties and lead to his death withing a maximum of two years.

Odone's parents, Augusto and Michaela, despite having no scientific background, decided to research the rare genetic disorder. Their struggle and ultimate triumph, when they found an oil that stopped the disease in its tracks and, in pre-symptomatic boys, prevented the onslaught of ALD, captivated director George Miller, who went on to make 'Happy Feet' and 'The Witches of Eastwick'. He turned the true life story into a film which won Susan Sarandon an Oscar nomination as Best Actress.

(Sarandon insisted on bringing Michaela Odone with her to the Oscar ceremonies).

The film met with criticism from the medical community, who condemned it for setting up false hopes in families of ALD sufferers. The Odones however were amply vindicated by a study published two years ago, which showed that Lorenzo's Oil did indeed stop ALD in pre-symptomatic boys.

The Odones also founded the Myelin Project, a mould-breaking medical research charity which as well as providing leadership in the search for a cure for ALD, also enabled families affected by the disease to meet directly with scientists working in the field. "Scientists should never forget that their mission is to relieve human suffering rather than win the Nobel prize" said Augusto Odone when founding the project.

In 1996, Phil Collins wrote the song "Lorenzo", based on lyrics written by Michaela.

Bedridden and unable to communicate from his seventh year, Lorenzo was kept at home by his parents. Nurses cared for him round the clock, as did his indefatigable parents. Lorenzo outlived his mother, who died of lung cancer in 2002. He is survived by his father, Augusto, his brother Francesco and sister Cristina.

ENDS