Film Guide For Lorenzo's Oil

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Show how Lorenzo's parents used the scientific method to solve their problem. State the problem, ask a question and use examples from the film to illustrate the steps. From the description of the disease, ALD, sketch what Lorenzo's neurons most likely looked like after a year. Include a sketch of a normal neuron. ALD is a recessive sex-linked or X-linked disease. What does this mean? What is Lorenzo's Oil? How does it work? Explain Augusto's use of paper clips to represent good and bad fatty acids. What did his dream help him understand? Why did the medical community resist the Odones' treatment ideas? Why did the parent support group resist? Give examples of arguments for and against. How do analogies help you to understand the scientific problem? How did modeling help solve the scientific problem? Can you think of other great discoveries that employed the use of models? Did the family's courage and persistence inspire you? How? How did Augusto and Michalla demonstrate "life-long" learning? Defend the position that diseases that affect a small % of the population should not get as much money for research as the big killers like cancer and heart disease. Why did olive oil not work completely? Trace the developments in the different kinds of oils discovered. What do you think is the role of support groups? How did the support group effect the Odones? What was found out from the Polish biochemist? What was the purpose of the ALD Symposiums? What happens when scientists work in isolation? What is erucic acid? Where was the myelin research being done? What was the experiment? How could this research help Lorenzo? How did the treatment for ALD really happen by accident? Can you think of any other times in medical history where an important discovery happened by mere chance?

Note: 1. 2. 3. 4. Short bond paper Type written Font style: Times New Roman Font Size: Title: 14, Questions: 12, Answer: 10

Lorenzos Oil: Video Guide to Science Contenta

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. ALD is from a family of diseases where there is an inborn error of metabolism that effects the brain in boys only. ALD is a classic case of a sex-linked disease passed to the son from the mother on the X chromosome. The mother appears healthy because she has another X Chromosome that is healthy so she does not express the disease but is a carrier of ALD. ALD causes an abnormal high level of long-chain saturated fatty acids to build up in the brain. These fats normally should be broken down (metabolized) by an enzyme. The result of the high level of long chain saturated fatty acids is to effect the myelin sheath. Myelin is the fatty sheath that insulates the nerves. The prognosis that Adonai learns in the library is very disturbing to him, in a very short time the ALD sufferer has dementia, loses function of their limbs, becomes blind, deaf and ultimately death. A meeting with Nikolai and a scientist that is working on a possible diet therapy restricting the diet of saturated fats. The hypothesis is that it could help reduce the amount of long chain saturated fats. The results of being on the diet for 6 months indicate that the fat levels are still high even though the fats were reduced in the diet. An immunosuppression trial is begun. The ethical issue of using patients for studies is a possible discussion topic. The ALD Foundation supports the classic scientific method of having a control group and continuing with the diet therapy even though it may take a very long time to complete. The ethical issues of human suffering versus following scientific protocol are brought to light here. The next portion is Lorenzo and his parents looking up at the sky, if you want to shorten the film you could skip this scene. Adonais kitchen sink analogy. Why does saturated C24 and C26 remain high when the faucet is turned off. Michaela stumbles on an article using Polish rats with a fatty acid storage disease. The discussion and awareness they gain about how they accidentally discovered this information forms the basis for the need for collaboration later becoming the Myelin Project that they founded. It illustrates the need for scientists to not work in isolation. The idea is if they could slow down biosynthesis, maybe they could stop the production of one type of fat by feeding another. The idea of a symposium bringing scientists together is born. The ethical issue of more kids die of choking on french fries is greater than the number of kids that die of ALD. Due to this small number a biotech firm cant afford to gear up for a therapy. At the symposium, not only is the Polish rat study mentioned, but also the use of Canadian miniature swine and human fibroblast cells. Oleic acid C18 in ordinary olive oil is suggested. A search begins for the edible version. Again the ethical issue of there not being a market for the few ALD cases is discussed. Nikolais concern is that oleic acid to an ALD patient is like sugar to a diabetic. The issue of the interests of scientists is not always the same as that of the parents is raised. From when the nurse is fired on the video there are many difficult scenes of dealing with Lorenzos health as well as a scene when his parents have a fight. If youre planning to cut the video short you could cut out a lot of these scenes. However, you dont want to miss Adonais discovery at the library of the mechanism of ALD. The last reference to the use of animals in helping find a cure for ALD as well as Multiple Sclerosis is shaking puppies, an animal model with a similar neurological defect.

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