第三十四期 Lorenzo's Oil 罗伦佐的油

源自恒星英语网，翻译详见原网http://m.hxen.com/englishlistening/rumen/huanqiu/2019-09-02/523519.html

Lorenzo's Oil
罗伦佐的油

Hello. I'm Liz Waid.

AndI'm Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a specialEnglish method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, nomatter where in the world they live

Lorenzo Odone ran around the school playground. He was five years old. He washaving fun. Lorenzo was an intelligent and lively child. He was able to speakthree languages. He knew a lot about the world for his age. He had spent threeyears of his life in the Comoros Islands in East Africa. Now he was living inAmerica. His teachers enjoyed looking after him. But in December 1983,Lorenzo's behaviour began to change.

Histeachers said he would suddenly become angry. He was difficult to control.Lorenzo was also struggling with his schoolwork. He had stopped learning.Lorenzo's teachers asked to see his parents - Augusto and Michaela. Augusto andMichaela took Lorenzo to the doctors. The doctors did many different tests.Lorenzo's parents knew that something was wrong. But nothing could haveprepared them for the test results. An expert doctor explained that Lorenzo hada rare disease. He called it Adrenoleukodystophy or ALD.

ALDis a genetic problem. It is passed from the parents to their child. The geneticproblem is linked to the X sex chromosome. This means that only boys have themost severe form of ALD. 

ALDstops the body from breaking down large fat molecules or cells. This includesthe fat cells that the body produces. And it includes fat cells from food. Thebuild up of fat molecules slowly destroys the brain. Children become unable towalk, speak or see. Most boys with ALD die within two to three years.

Lorenzo's father, Augusto remembers the doctors telling him the terrible news.

"I was shocked. It was a death sentence. And Lorenzo would not even havean easy death. I asked the doctor if I could read the medical papers. But hetold me not to concern myself with them. He said I would not be able tounderstand what they meant. He advised me to go home and look after my son. Heoffered no hope."

Augusto and Michaela did take Lorenzo home. But they also decided to find outabout ALD. They read every single book on the subject. In time they began tounderstand about the disease. The brain damage seemed to be linked to a buildup of fatty acids in the blood. Augusto searched for a chemical that coulddestroy the fat. He read about a special sort of oil - oleic acid. This oil wasable to destroy fatty acids. Could this be the answer to Lorenzo's condition?Augusto knew many science experts. He had written to them during his research.Now he decided to invite them all to a conference. There he presented hisresearch findings. But many of the experts did not believe him. He was notmedically trained. He was not a doctor. Augusto and Michaela were just twonormal parents who loved their son. How could they have the answer to ALD? Thecondition had even beaten famous scientists.

Butin less than a year these two parents had succeeded. They had found atreatment. It was a combination of oils. The oils reduced the fatty acids inthe blood. Augusto and Michaela called this oil 'Lorenzo's Oil'.

Doctor Hugo Moser is a world authority on ALD. He remembers the breakthrough:

"Lorenzo's oil lowered the fatty acids better than any other substance. Itwas something I knew we needed to take seriously. It would have been foolish tonot investigate further."

Doctor Moser decided to help Augusto and Michaela. In time other doctors alsostarted to use the oil to treat ALD patients. A film was made about Lorenzo'soil. People hoped it would be a miracle cure. But sadly it was not. Doctorsgave children with ALD the oil. But the children still died. Lorenzo himselftook the oil. He did survive - but his brain was still damaged. The oil did nothelp him get any better. It just slowed the progress of the disease. Manymedical experts started to question the treatment. Maybe it was not a medicalbreakthrough after all.

Augusto and Michaela Odone were very sad. They had worked hard to find a curefor Lorenzo. Was all that hard work a waste of time? Augusto and his wifedecided to continue to fight for their son. Doctor Moser also decided to continuewith research into Lorenzo's oil. He decided to perform more tests on boys withthe ALD gene. But these boys had not developed any signs of the disease yet.Doctor Moser gave the boys Lorenzo's oil as early as possible. Many of thesechildren already had an older brother with the condition. Doctors had testedthem for the ALD gene when they were small babies. So Doctor Moser gave themoil from a very early age. After ten years Doctor Moser published his results.

Doctor Moser said that he gave the oil to one hundred and twenty boys. Allthese boys had the ALD gene. Normally most them would have developed signs ofthe disease. Some of them would have died. But with Lorenzo's oil eighty-threeof them are still healthy. Doctor Moser does not want people to think thatLorenzo's oil is a cure. But he believes that it does help slow the progress ofthe disease. In some people it may prevent the disease from developingcompletely. But more research still needs to be carried out. One of the boysDoctor Moser treated was Glen Stafford. Glen is now over twenty years old andfully fit. He says,

"If my doctor had not given me the oil at an early age I do not think Iwould be here now. I give thanks to those people who worked so hard to give methis chance."

Doctors have continued to study and use Lorenzo's oil. They now see itsvalue. But what about the boy the oil was named after - what about Lorenzo?Today, Lorenzo is in his twenties. He is confined to his bed. But he is able tocommunicate a little. He enjoys a restricted life. His father, Augusto,continues to study ALD. He wants to find newways to help his disabled son. He says,

"When the doctors told us about Lorenzo we had to choose. We could acceptLorenzo's death or we could fight for his life. We decided to do all we couldto help our son. We did not have much knowledge of medicine. But we did havelove. And today we have a result. It is not a cure for Lorenzo. But it doesprovide hope for other children. It also demonstrates for me the power oflove."