Lorenzo’s oil is 4 parts glycerol trioleate and 1 part glycerol trierucate, which are the triacylglycerol forms of oleic acid and erucic acid and are prepared from olive oil and rapeseed oil. It is used in the investigational treatment of asymptomatic patients with adrenoleukodystrophy. The oil was formulated by Augusto and Michaela Odone after their son Lorenzo was diagnosed with the disease in 1984, at the age of five, with the actual production initially developed by retired British scientist Don Suddaby. Suddaby and his colleague, Keith Coupland, received U.S. Patent No. 5,331,009 for the oil. The royalties received by Augusto were paid to The Myelin Project which he and Michaela founded to further research treatments for ALD and similar disorders. The Odones and their invention obtained widespread publicity in 1992 because of the film Lorenzo’s Oil. Lorenzo Odone died on May 30, 2008, at the age of 30, after suffering from aspiration pneumonia, caused by food getting stuck in his lungs.
Treatment costs
Lorenzo's oil costs approximately $400 USD for a month's treatment.
Lorenzo's oil, in combination with a diet low in VLCFA, has been investigated for its possible effects on the progression of ALD. Clinical results have been mixed and the use of Lorenzo's oil has been controversial due to uncertainties regarding its clinical efficacy and the clinical indications for its use. Hugo Moser played a prominent role in both the treatment of Lorenzo Odone and the scientific evaluation of Lorenzo's oil. In 2005, Moser published a controlled study concluding that Lorenzo's oil does not alter the course of the illness in symptomatic patients, but asymptomatic patients had a reduced risk of developing ALD while on the dietary therapy. Moser appraised Lorenzo's oil again in a 2007 report. Moser's findings, that Lorenzo's oil did not help symptomatic ALD patients, are consistent with prior studies published in 2003 and 1999.
Side effects
The oil has been shown to cause a lowered platelet count, which can lead to thrombocytopenia and lymphopenia. There are no reports of toxicity from dietary consumption of erucic acid.
Current state
Dietary manipulation using Lorenzo's oil has been shown to lower blood levels of very long chain fatty acids, but it is ineffective in symptomatic ALD. However, studies by Hugo Moser have found evidence that use of the oil by asymptomatic patients may slightly delay the onset of symptoms.
