Preview

Lorenzo's Oil Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1108 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lorenzo's Oil Essay
The movie, "Lorenzo's Oil", was about a family that found out that their son had been diagnosed with a rare, genetic disorder of which was considered incurable. The sex-linked disorder ALD, passed on by the x-chromosome, of which is usually accompanied by the unfortunate fate of death, has also been known to bring forth muteness, blindness, comas, seizures, and deafness. With no known cure for ALD, or any possible way of escaping its final result (death), doctors would use a special treatment to prevent any further deterioration of the brain, depending of course on the severity of the damage done prior to treatment. In Lorenzo's case, the disorder had already corrupted too large of an area of his brain so the treatment given by the doctors would have been of little help to him. In most cases, death occurs nine months after diagnosis, however, Lorenzo's parents refused to let death be his only option and they did their best to find another treatment to help their boy. …show more content…
As a major component in the medical field, chemistry is used in producing new solutions, observing their reactions, and testing the effectiveness of these solutions in treating or curing various illnesses. This is shown when Lorenzo's parents continuously perform their experiments of mixing various substances and noting their ability to lower fat build-up in hopes of finding a cure to their son's diminishing

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    According to research it is proven that before Lorenzo’s oil was developed, many teenagers especially boys died at a young age due to the accumulation of saturated fatty acids in the blood. Lorenzo’s oil consisting of oleic and erucic acids which reduces the level of VLCSFAs in the blood helped improve the nervous system of many boys and made them live longer. As proven in the movie, Lorenzo’s oil worked effectively as it helped Lorenzo recover and improved his nervous system. According to a study that was done, it showed the reduction of ALD symptoms development by 67% .In addition, the oil is effective as it reduces and prevents the inception of the disease if taken before the symptoms show. Lowering the levels of very long chain saturated fatty acids reduces the threat of developing the childhood form of the disease.…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lorenzo’s parents start calling internationally trying to find an oil company that will distill the oils into the right formula. A British doctor agrees to take on the challenge and distills the oil with eurucic acid. The formula normalized the very long chain fatty acids in Lorenzo’s brain and halted the disease. There is still a lot of neurological damage and Lorenzo can not begin healing until more advanced treatment options are discovered. But with a lot of moral support from friends and family he can now answer yes or no questions by blinking because his brain is not backed up with very long chain fatty acids.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author concludes with his own story, about a mysterious neuromuscular disease that is gradually robbing him of his mobility. Like the prion diseases, his is a disorder of misfolded proteins. However he realizes that his condition is not as fatal as familial insomnia or the other destructive prion diseases. Ultimately, I believe that D.T Maz presents the mysterious past and possible future circumstances of medical diseases. The more we research and analyze these cases, the better interpretation we can have towards a…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Our son Lorenzo has a degenerative genetic disease called Adrenoleukodystrophy. This heartless disease is result of having a female parent that is a carrier. The symptoms go from tantrum fits, to losing physical and cognitive abilities to, eventually death. This is all due to the build up of long chained fatty acids building up on the myelin in the brain caused by the disease.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jane Smith Case

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Her ataxia had progressed, which worsened her insomnia and forced her to quit her job. Her face had become gaunt and there were dark circles under her eyes, which indicated that she was sleeping less and less. She had seen other medical professionals that had prescribed sleeping pills and pain killers, but they weren’t working to the full extent. From that point on, Jane announced that she was no longer going to take medications and would accept the fatality of her disease and be happy to not have passed it on. Ms. Smith has since sent in both of her siblings to get tested for Fatal Familial Insomnia, in which the middle sibling has tested positive for the gene but has not shown any symptoms of the disease. After a tough 8 month battle, Jane succumbed to Fatal Familial Insomnia and donated her remains to science in order to discover a possible cure for…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alice is a 50 years married linguistics proffesor with three children who is diagnosed with early onset familial Alzheimer’s disease.The movie shows Alice as disease proggreses and how it affects family as well. Two of her children decide to do a genetical test for Alzheirmers. However, only her oldest daughter who is pregnant tests positive, fortunatly her twin unborn babies test negative.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    | Biophysical medication resolves around the central theory of treating a behavioral or emotional disorder with appropriate physical interventions and methods. Teachers are often the first adults that notice when a child has a physical ailment. Whether it is stomach ache or a cold, a very observant teacher notices when a child is not behaving like his or her normal self. Likewise, the teacher is often the first adult that is able to give a valuable opinion on the effectiveness of medication on a student. Students with ADD/ADHD are often required to take the medicine at the start of the school day. This means that the majority of the time will be spent with teachers and not with the primary caregivers such as the parents and likewise teachers will be able to provide a better account of a drug’s side effect. As relating to biophysical medication, a student’s teacher…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tay Sachs Disease Essay

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It is caused by the presence of the homozygous recessive gene on chromosome 15 that codes for the production of hexosaminidase-A (Hex-A). Since the body has no HexA, a fatty substance is allowed build up abnormally in nerve cells, which eventually damages the cells and the brain. When a child is two years old, they will suffer seizures and degrading mental function. Their mental abilities continue to worsen to a point of paralyses and blindness, and death comes around age five.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Natural remedy for diseases versus prescription medicines has been the topic of medical discussions from a long time. While majority of the patients rely on what their doctors recommend, others have commenced questioning the dangers that normally go with pharmaceutical medicines, moreover have boarded on the job of looking for harmless and extra natural options. There are other significant reasons to think about prior to settling on a cure to address health problems. Below are the common arguments one can make use of to think about the pros and cons of both natural treatments and prescription medications.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Many of us are familiar with the slogan “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” but if it’s not butter, then what is it? The name of this butter substitute is referred to as oleomargarine or some either refer to it simply as oleo or margarine. Interestingly enough, oleo caused a big uproar when it was first introduced into the United States.…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of the many trend setting practices, oil pulling is rapidly becoming one of them. It seems now more than ever, people are placing much more emphasis on their appearance. The hair has to be styled a certain way and the body has to fit a certain mold. Well, how about that smile? The lips, many feel, should be full, but the teeth should be perfectly white. Oh yes, the smile is extremely important.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One of the most interesting and revealing is the one of George Cheyne, appeared in his book A new theory of continual fevers in 1701. Interestingly, Cheyne advanced Pitcairne’s ideas in a more mathematical fashion, developing a strong iatromathematical position founded on the use of Newton’s forces and his methodology. Since the preface of his work, Cheyne reveals the mechanical character of his physiology and its mathematical implications. For him, the human body is nothing but a set of ‘branching and winding’ canals, through which different liquors are flowing constantly. As Cheyne explains, a disease is the consequence of a malfunctioning of the mechanical system of the body and, because of this, any treatment should be gathered from the experimental data provided by the anatomical studies and the mathematical analysis that the physiologist…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chemistry in My Kitchen

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Jacobsen kitchen is an unusual place. The atmosphere is often more “mad scientist” than “gourmet chef ”. Testing JCE Classroom Activity procedures at home brings an eclectic collection of materials to our counters. Our toaster competes for space with a collection of funnels made from 2-liter plastic beverage bottles and rubber stoppers (1). Baking soda from my shelf joins citric acid from a natural foods shopping trip, to be molded into bath bubblers using plastic eggs left over from Easter (2). My young children view this as normal. They like to help with mom’s “chemistry experiments”, as I refer to them. They pour water into the funnels. They try out the bath bubblers in their evening bath. They are used to seeing ordinary household items used for something new, for something that is science. We talk about what we see. Without any explicit teaching from me or the use of specialized vocabulary, they make observations and in their own way, learn that chemistry is all around them. A surrounding environment of chemistry and the sharing of real world objects that connect to science can play a large role in helping students (or anyone!) relate to chemistry and its concepts. It happens in my kitchen. It happens in your classroom. The beauty of National Chemistry Week (NCW) is that it provides an incredibly easy way to surround students with chemistry that is related to familiar, everyday items and ideas. The American Chemical Society chooses themes that make connection to the real world as trouble-free as possible. The theme for October 17–23, 2004 is “Health and Wellness”; the 2005 theme is “The Joy of Toys”. (Have a submission idea with toys? Now is the time to start working on it!) JCE offers an issue dedicated to educator resources that connect NCW to multiple parts of your curriculum. Several articles in this issue link chemistry to items from the…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Advances in science, medicine, and the social sciences led to new theories about the natural world and human mind, an improved quality of life, and longer life spans.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    essay on oil

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The principle used to generate electricity from the solar panels is the same as that used to generate electricity from the chemical reaction using a standard battery. The basic working of solar panels depends on the semi conductor property of silicon. The silicon is a unique substance that has revolutionized the way electronic appliances work. This property is used to generate electricity from the solar panels. In order to understand how solar panels work we need to understand how silicon works at an atomic level.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics