Lorenzo’s Oil Ethical Case Study Mini Paper NURS 458 2/7/2020 Adebayo Oluyole The movie Lorenzo’s oil” was very touching. I enjoyed watching the movie. I thought it was so good, I grabbed my girlfriend who is also an RN to join me in watching the movie. I felt for the parents and the community. I respect the brave courage of Lorenzo’s parents in assisting in searching for a cure. In regard to question two, I didn’t think the nurses were heartless no were the physicians fools. I believe there’s a bit of a gray area as far as the parent support group being mindless because some parents loss so much due to this newly discovered disease (AMN/ALS). The presidents of the group thought they were saving the emotions of the other parents within the group by not giving them false hope, however; I thought it would have been appropriate for the presidents of the group to share with members the findings and results of the work put in by the Odone’s. The objections of the physicians were to trial therapies in hopes of understanding the ALS/AMN disease better. ALS/AMN was a newly discovered disease and physicians did not know much about it according to the movie. When Lorenzo was showcased in the classroom of doctors it was to help them learn more about the disease, especially it’s visible side effects. I believe it was appropriate for the Odone’s to use themselves as “guinea pigs” because they chose to do it with their conscious decision. They weren’t force into it. Moreover, there wasn’t much data out regarding Lorenzo’s disease. The family was desperate for a cure and were willing to take chances with hopes that things will turn for the best. In regard to question three, I thought it was wrong for the drug companies to refuse to study ALD. Seems like drug companies care more about making profits then they do about truly helping individuals. In my opinion, drug companies refusing to study ALD because there are few patients and no large profit in developing a drug is wrong and unethical to me. In the economics field of medicine and pharmacology this tactic is not seen as wrong. Without there being a large population of people affected by this disease, the drug companies will not have any customers. No customers to the drug companies will mean no business or profits for them. I think it will be a wonderful idea by the government to impose regulations of which a percentage of profits are used to develop drugs to orphan diseases. I believe this is necessary because without regulations like this many children will not have the opportunity for their rare disease to be studied by science with hopes of finding a cure. With the money acquired from government regulations, parents like Mrs. Odone wouldn’t have to go through the trouble she did to raise money for research. In regard to question four, I believe researchers can offer hope of improvement because in essence of studying disease that is what his therapy is hoping for. I believe it is okay to offer hope if the researcher is being truthful, and intentions of the trials are clearly stated. In addition, researchers should also mention that there can be no improvement in conditions so that participants are informed and aware of all possibilities whether researchers are looking to gain participants or not. In regard to question five, I believe the researcher should tell the patient of all results daily. Patients have the right to be informed, and they should be informed of the most up to date results. I disagreed with the researchers telling the Odone’s that they should wait six months before referring to results. Patient’s and their family involved in the care should be updated every day about the latest findings because it is unethical to leave them misinformed. The relevant ethical principles in this matter involves the rights of patients to know what is going on and the rights of autonomy by patient’s and their loved ones to make decisions they feel is best for themselves as they are truly informed of their care. Works Cited Miller, G., Enright, N., Mitchell, D., Nolte, N., Sarandon, S., Ustinov, P., … Bamman, J. (2004). Lorenzo’s oil. Universal City, CA: Universal.
