AP
May 31, 2008
WASHINGTON - The man whose parents' battle to save him from a debilitating nerve disease was told in the movie "Lorenzo's Oil" died yesterday at his home in Virginia, having lived more than 20 years longer than doctors had predicted.
Lorenzo Odone, who doctors had predicted would die at age 8, died one day after his 30th birthday, after coming down with pneumonia, said his father, Augusto Odone.
Lorenzo, whose life was depicted in the 1992 Oscar-winning film starring Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte, was found at age 6 to have adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD.
The disease leads to the accumulation of substances called very long chain fatty acids in cells, which damages the material that coats nerve fibers in the brain.
