The Real Story

Lorenzo Odone was diagnosed with ALD when he was 6 years old. By the time that he was 7, he was bedridden and unable to communicate. His parents decided to further look into his disease and found out that it made the body unable to break down large fat molecules. After a lot of work, they invented "Lorenzo's Oil" which was composed of a 4 to 1 mixture of erucic acid and oleic acid, extracted from olive oil and rapeseed oil. The oil has been found to help prevent the disease in boys before the onset of symptoms. It also slowed down the effects of the disease on Lorenzo although the disease had already progressed considerably. He died in 2008 at the age of 30. 

The movie

"Lorenzo's Oil", starring Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte, was made in 1992 and displayed the story of the Odones and their struggle to find a cure for ALD. It brought ALD to the attention of the public eye and increased the public's awareness.

Here is a clip from the movie with an explanation of the disease:

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