May 2nd, 2018
Please see our powerpoints here for more details.
Below is the movie that we watched tonight.
Here is a brief summary of the movie:
This movie is based on a true story of Odone (pronounced Oh-DOH-nay) family. Lorenzo Michael Murphy Odone (1978 - 2008) was the only son of Augusto Daniel Odone (1933 - 2013) and Michaela Teresa Murphy Odone (1939 - 2000). The movie was introduced in 1992 to honor Lorenzo's parents for their restless effort in finding treatment to Lorenzo's disease: adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a deadly X-linked disorder.
People with ALD lack enzyme needed to degrade very long chain fatty acids. These fatty acids build up in their brains and solubilize the myelin sheath around nerve cells. As a result, ALD patients will not be able to move, to see, to communicate, and eventually, die. There was no cure or treatment to ALD at that time. In order to save their son, Lorenzo'a parents took turn to take care of him and visit the library hoping that they would find some information about his illness. It should also be emphasized that Mr. and Mrs. Odone were not scientists, yet, they had an amazing determination. Lorenzo's Oil was the proof.
We highly recommend you to check out this movie. Also, you can read about this disease and explanation written by Dr. Stith from the University of Colorado here http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/bstith/loren.htm
Thanks you all for a wonderful semester!
