Lorenzo Odone Tribute

Lorenzo Odone, whose parents’ battle to save him from a nerve disease was the subject of the movie “Lorenzo’s Oil,” died on May 30th. He was 30.

He had recently come down with pneumonia, his father, Augusto Odone, said.

At 5, Lorenzo was found to have adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare hereditary children’s disease. He was given only a few years to live.

Augusto Odone and his wife, Michaela, formulated a blend of erucic and oleic acids found in cooking oils that they said helped their son fight the disease.

A study published in 2005 said that the oil might delay the disease in boys in which it had not yet caused symptoms.

In the 1992 film, Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte portrayed Lorenzo’s parents. Ms. Odone died of lung cancer in 2000.