Lorenzo Odone, the child featured in the film Lorenzo’s Oil has died. I have always wondered what happened to this boy, even though it must have been ten years since I saw the film. I thought, after reading several times that the film gave false hope to the parents of Adrenoleucodystrophy (ALD) sufferers, that Lorenzo must have died soon after the film was made in 1992.

ALD is a genetic condition, affecting mainly boys, where the body produces a fatty acid that accumulates in the
nerve cells and damages the coating of the nerve fibres, called myelin. A rapid loss of motor functions follows, leading usually to death within two years. When Lorenzo’s parents, Augusto and Michaela Odone, were told of this prognosis they researched until they came up with Lorenzo’s Oil, which stopped the progress of the disease but did not reverse the brain damage. Augusto and Michaela (until her death in 2000) continued to research for a cure and care for Lorenzo until his death late last month. They had no medical training.

Lorenzo died of pneumonia on May 30 at age 30.

While the film and Lorenzo’s parents were accused of giving false hope, some studies have suggested that the oil can be used as a preventative measure. Out of 120 children it was used on, 83 did not develop the disease. Unfortunately another family member needs to get the disease before the pre-symptomatic children are tested to see if they carry the gene. I also feel that the film was more about a parent’s love for their child, and less about a miracle cure, which is why the film was so successful. Most every parent can sympathize with loving a child.

Recently scientists claimed a breakthrough that suggests stem cell treatment could rebuild the myelin wall, the part of Lorenzo’s brain that was damaged by the disease.

Actor Kelsey Grammer, 53, had a heart attack on Saturday while paddle boarding with his wife. According to his rep, it was mild and he’s doing alright now. Grammer is expected to be released within a couple days.

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT has confirmed that Kelsey Grammer suffered a mild heart attack Saturday and is now resting comfortably in a Honolulu hospital. He will be released from the hospital early this week.

His spokesperson tells ET Grammer experienced symptoms Saturday morning after paddle boarding with his wife Camille at their Hawaiian home off the Kona coast. Grammer was immediately taken an area hospital where it was determined that he had a mild heart attack. He was then flown to another hospital in Honolulu.

EXTRA received the following statement from Stan Rosenfield regarding his client Kelsey Grammer

“Kelsey Grammer has suffered a mild heart attack Saturday, and is resting comfortably in a Hawaiian hospital. He will be released from the hospital early this week.

[From the Huffington Post]

It sounds like he’s doing all right, luckily. Often when people have a relatively mild heart attack at a young(ish) age like Grammer, it encourages them to become really proactive about their heart health, and ends up being a great turning point in their lives, instead of something really terrible. Hopefully that’ll be the case here.

Grammer’s Fox sitcom Back to You was canceled after just one low-rated season. He’s been added to the cast of an upcoming ABC show that looks somewhat better.

The briefly unemployed and universally castable Kelsey Grammer, coming off just one season on Fox’s low-rated Back to You, has snatched up another prime-time gig, this time starring in an ABC comedy pilot.

Roman’s Empire centers on a young guy who gets dumped by his girlfriend but can’t seem to extricate himself from her overbearing billionaire family, the Prettys—in particular, from the clan’s eccentric patriarch, played by Grammer.

The sitcom is based on the same named British series and began production over the holiday weekend. Ashton Kutcher’s Katalyst Films produces the pilot.

[From E! News]

Clearly Grammer clearly has a lot on his plate, and it looks like his career could very well be picking up again. Hopefully he’ll be able to get his health back on track and star in another good show.

Here’s Kelsey Grammer and wife Camille arriving at Nobu restaurant in Malibu, California on May 15th. Images thanks to WENN.

Oprah Winfrey – who we’re supposed to believe blogs – wrote on her website that she’s undergoing a 21-day vegan cleansing diet. And by that, I mean Oprah’s assistant’s assistant typed it up really quickly. Oprah, 54, regained a lot of weight recently, and she disclosed that she’s been suffering from hypothyroidism. She’s now determined to lose the weight and change her eating habits again – and is going totally meatless.

Wow, wow, wow! I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying.” she writes. “I had been focused on what I had to give up — sugar, gluten, alcohol, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese. ‘What’s left?’ I thought. Apparently a lot. I can honestly say every meal was a surprise and a delight, beginning with breakfast — strawberry rhubarb wheat-free crepes.”

Inspired by Kathy Freston’s book Quantum Wellness, Winfrey says, “this 21-day cleanse gives me a chance to think about [eating] differently and see what my attachments are to certain kinds of foods – and what I’m willing to do to change.”

Her new menu — created by Freston’s own chef Tal Ronnen — features food like tofu scramble roasted tomato, grilled onion and sweet garlic aioli quesadillas with jicama slaw. She plans to blog her the entire dieting process. “Don’t know if I’m going to feel better or worse,” Winfrey writes, “but I’m willing to try to see if my body at least feels differently.”

[From Us Weekly]

Something tells me most people could happily go meatless if they had a professional chef to do all the fancy cooking for them. My vegetarian roommate made a whole wheat tofu pizza the other night and my tongue actually tried to run away from the rest of my body. If I had anything involving the word aioli, jicama, or crepes, I’m pretty sure I could manage. As it is I’m low carb, which means I had four slices of bacon and an Atkins shake for dinner. I would gladly eat Oprah’s vegan quesadilla every day of my life if I never have to repeat that meal again.

Oprah is talking about her diet like it’s this big deal – but her meal plan sounds better than what most of us probably slap together. How much of a sacrifice could it really be? And if it is – wasn’t her whole thing about eating reasonably, in a way that you can maintain? From the way she’s wording it, it doesn’t sound like she plans on going a day beyond the requisite three weeks on this diet. Not that I’m one to judge. I’m eating pork rinds as I write this.

The National Enquirer has details of the diet and fitness regime Britney’s on in an effort to lose 20 pounds and kick start her comeback, and I hope they have some of the details wrong it because it sounds grueling. Supposedly Britney’s newly re-hired manager, Larry Rudolph, put her on the program, and this would make sense because he is also the person who is said to be brokering the deal to have her represent Bally Total Fitness.

Here are the details:

• “Six small meals a day of specially prepared organic food – chicken, salads, vegetables and other low-fat fare.”
• Pampering treatments for encouragement and appearance such as facials, hair and skin care treatments
• Working out “with a trainer, three times a day, five days a week.”
• “She’s been ordered to do a staggering thousand stomach crunches a day on her own.”

[Details and quoted text from The National Enquirer, print edition, May 5, 2008]

A thousand stomach crunches and working out three times a day? That sounds excessive, and like something that could backfire because it’s too difficult. If you have attainable goals and a realistic schedule it’s easier to stick with. I hope they got it wrong and she works out three to five times a week or something. You can work out nearly every day, but you should alternate cardio with strength training to give your muscles a chance to recover. Three times a day sounds like it would really wear your body down.

The Enquirer quotes a source as saying “Larry doesn’t want her to be a joke when he restarts her career – and he wants her to look sexier than ever.” Maybe they should work her at an easier pace. It’s only been a a few months since she had that whole breakdown and she has a tendency to rebel when people force her to do things. Still, you wish her well and all. It’s just doesn’t seem like trying for a singing career again at this point would be the best move for her. It’s not like she knows how to do much else though.

Britney is shown leaving Bally Total Fitness on 4/23/08. She looks really happy and you can see that she’s lost weight.

Keanu Reeves is getting hyperbaric oxygen treatments in Beverly Hills, according to a new exclusive story in The National Enquirer. They say he decided to try the treatments in order to get relief from insomnia, and he feels that it’s working. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers were brought to public awareness in the 1980s when Micheal Jackson claimed that the treatment would help him live to be 150. He was largely dismissed as a quack for his claims, but hyperbaric therapy does have real medical applications and has been approved by Medicare as a reimbursable treatment for specific conditions, including carbon monoxide poisoning and wounds that won’t heal.

The patient either sits in a large pressurized chamber and breathes through an oxygen mask or goes into a smaller one-person chamber that has pure oxygen. Pressurized oxygen enters the tissues of the body and is said to increase the “oxygen transport capacity of the blood.” Sessions usually last for an hour.

The treatment is supposed to improve overall health, and has widespread applications. A large Canadian study published in The Lancet in 2001 showed that children with cerebral palsy treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and pressurized air improved significantly compared to most all other conventional therapies. Studies have shown similar improvement with hyperbaric therapy for people with Multiple Sclerosis. The side effects and possible complications are similar to diving disorders, and include trapped air in the body.

Sally Kirkland is a proponent of hyperbaric oxygen treatments, and said it helped her recover from silicone poisoning from breast implants. She claims that it strengthened her immune system and helped clear the silicone from her body. She uses the same treatment center in Beverly Hills, Global Hyperbaric, that Keanu uses.

In Keanu’s case “he has Global Hyperbaric bring a portable chamber to his Hollywood Hills home, and sometimes his movie set, to administer the treatment” and has received it “numerous times,” according to the Enquirer. He also convinced his co-star in the film Street Kings, Naomi Harris, to give it a try.

It would take just one of my friends raving about this to get me to try it. As it is, I want to get the treatment after having read about it. Costs are prohibitive though, and can run from $100 to $200 per session. Here’s a list of some hyperbaric treatment centers around the world.

Keanu Reeves is shown at the Street Kings premiere on 4/3/08, thanks to PRPhotos. He looks great at 43, but would it kill him to smile?

Inset image from Vital Path Health.

[Details and quoted text about hyperbaric therapy from Wikipedia.]

Gwyneth Paltrow is the latest celebrity mom to says she battled post-partum depression. Paltrow says she became very depressed after the birth of her second child Moses, now 2. Despite the attention post-partum depression has gotten in the media and from other famous moms like Brooke Shields, Gwyneth says she had no clue that was what was wrong with her until it was all over.

Gwyneth Paltrow reveals in the May issue of Vogue that she battled post-partum depression after welcoming her second child, son Moses, in 2006.

“I didn’t know I had it until after it was over,” the actress, 35, says. “I just didn’t know what was wrong with me.” She suspects her depression stemmed from scaling back on her usual pre-baby treatments like acupuncture.

“I felt really out of my body,” Paltrow says after giving birth. “I felt really disconnected. I felt really down … I felt pessimistic.”

[From Us Weekly]

At first I thought the acupuncture thing came off as kind of… “oh poor me, I have to cut back on my spa treatments.” But that’s not really the case, and it makes sense that not having any “me” time could make depression worse. Gwyneth’s always been really into alternative therapies (remember her talking about cupping on Oprah?) and often does cleanses and detoxes. It makes sense that someone who’s generally really in tune with her body could feel extra unsettled at the loss of it.

Here’s Gwyneth with Helena Christensen – wearing some crazy shoes – at the 5th Annual Can-Do Awards Dinner marking the 25th anniversary of Food Bank for New York City on April 7th 2008. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Dignity really is taking a serious hit on television today. Either that or the nose is finally having it’s shining moment of glory. This morning on Live with Regis and Kelly, the pair did a segment on sinuses and what you can do to manage them during allergy season. They had sinus expert Dr. Jordan S. Josephson, author of “Sinus Relief Now,” on the show to teach them how to irrigate their nasal passages. Both Regis and Kelly tried to neti (which I long ago made a verb) their noses, flushing out their sinuses for the entire audience to see. It really was a thing of beauty.

I’m a huge fan of the neti, and do it when I brush my teeth… and about 4 other times a day. Though I’ve moved up in the world, and now have that fancy, Waterpik-looking device you see at the beginning of the segment. It has a really loud motor that my roommates just love.

In keeping with today’s nose them, Regis and Kelly also decided to blow up balloons with their nostrils. At first I was confused, as I thought this was somehow related to sinuses. Turns out, Andrew Dahl I, a 13-year-old boy from Blaine, Washington , blew up 213 balloons in an hour this past Friday in the Blaine’s public library. I guess he wasn’t aware that most people go there to read. Dahl is claiming the world record, and is waiting to hear back from Guinness. I guess Regis and Kelly were trying to honor him – though Kelly clearly did a better job.

Kylie Minogue has been out talking about her breast cancer, and two things about it have really struck true with me. First, is that she has not been given the all clear from doctors yet, that she still has to have regular checks.

“It’s not over,” quotes the Sunday Mirror, “I still go for regular check-ups. The ‘voyage’ doesn’t end suddenly. That’s why it’s so difficult to talk about it.”

However, despite admitting some of her management team feared her decision to announce her condition in May 2005 could harm her career, Kylie says she’s sure she made the right decision in going public.

“It’s wonderful to know that in talking about it, I’m perhaps helping women, families and also some men with breast cancer,” she explains.

Entertainmentwise

Secondly, that she was misdiagnosed initially and told everything was fine, and she only discovered the tumor on a second investigation.

“Listen, this is an opportunity for me to say something that I have not said before,” a nervous Minogue said.

“I was misdiagnosed initially.

“So my message to all of you and everyone at home is, because someone is in a white coat and using big medical instruments doesn’t necessarily mean they are right.”

Minogue did not give the date of the misdiagnosis, how long she went before the second check or if the misdiagnosis occurred in Australia or Britain.

But, she said the misdiagnosis happened before she embarked on her Showgirl concert tour.

Sydney Morning Herald

This is so important, to not feel intimidated when you go to see your doctor. If you feel something is wrong with your body, then something probably is. There is no need to feel embarrassed by getting a second opinion, or coming back for further tests. If your doctor makes you feel stupid, tell him he’s not doing his job properly by making you feel that way and get a new doctor.

Kylie also took the time to point out that getting married and having babies would be marvelous, but that she doesn’t “absolutely have to have children to make my life complete”.

Kylie is currently promoting her new album, titled X. She turns 40 in May.

Kylie Minogue is shown at The Brit Awards on 2/20/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

As much as we tried to stay optimistic about Amy Winehouse, it appears that she’s worse off than ever. The “skin infection” on her face no longer bears the one large roundish mark but is instead replaced with dozens of spots and scabs, including a nasty one near her lip. Amy also bears fresh cuts on her arms, leading most people to believe that she’s back to cutting again. The scabs on her face look like she’s been picking at them, and almost look worse for the concealer she’s used to try to mask them. Supposedly she’s still suffering from impetigo, though a lot of people think her terrible skin is a result of copious amounts of drug use.

After a harrowing visit to her husband in prison, no one would expect Amy Winehouse to be looking her best. But even by her own standards, the award-winning singer appeared to be in particularly desperate shape. Heavy make-up failed to conceal the spots and scabs on her wrinkled cheeks, chin and nose. There were also angry red welts on her arms, leading to fears that she has started self-harming again.

Miss Winehouse’s spokesman has insisted she is suffering from the bacterial skin infection impetigo – which is highly contagious and can develop by repetitive scratching of a sore. He said the 24-year-old has been put on a course of antibiotics to clear it up. But friends fear the scabs on her face are a sign that her drinking and drug taking is once again spiralling out of control. Her love of junk food has also not helped the condition of her skin. She was pictured emerging from a fast-food outlet with fish and chips and a bottle of Lucozade. A source said: “Her friends are worried these sores have been caused by an excessive use of crack cocaine, which can cause these kind of blemishes.” Pete Doherty used to have similar sores under his nose.

[From the Daily Mail]

When I was in London for six weeks, I found it nearly impossible to get a hold of any fruits or vegetables in restaurants. With the exception of ridiculous amounts of baked potatoes of course. But Amy Winehouse not eating a lot of fresh food doesn’t really come as a major surprise to me. The Daily Mail goes on to talk to a dermatologist who points out that whatever is going on inside the body shows on the skin. Any kind of imbalance – and certainly drug use – could show up there. It’s hard not to wonder how Amy can look in the mirror every morning and think her life is going well. She looks like she’s falling apart, and any health she gained during her brief trip to rehab seems to have left her a long time ago.

Here’s Amy stopping at a kebab shop after visiting her husband Blake in prison. Images thanks to WENN.

I love Celebrityville. It’s a little town I made up where all the stars live, and the laws of logic, normal behavior, and common decency do not apply. In Celebrityville, going to the E.R. to get your stomach pumped is checking in “for exhaustion.” Time spent at rehab for mainlining heroin is actually checking in to deal with some “personal issues.” And in Amy Winehouse’s case, getting hit in the face is actually some unknown exotic “skin infection.” At least according to her spokesman, who must by the mayor of Celebrityville by now. On Friday Amy was photographed with a bizarre… something… on her face. I don’t think there’s really a word to describe it. Rumors started flying that it’s a bruise and Amy must have gotten punched in a fight. While I’ve heard of people getting “a shiner” I didn’t think it was supposed to be so literal. Amy’s spokesman says it’s some kind of unknown skin infection. There are pictures of Amy from the day before, and her face looks completely normal. If it is an infection, it came on really, really fast.

Amy Winehouse has quashed rumors she was involved in a fight – putting her bruised and swollen face down to a mystery skin infection. The star fueled speculation she may have suffered a blow to the cheek after she was photographed on Friday (29Feb08) with a painful-looking swelling on the side of her face. But Winehouse’s official spokesman insists the singer has come down with a mystery illness and is seeking medical help. He tells British newspaper the Daily Star, “Amy has a skin infection which is why her face looks the way it does. At this stage she has no idea what it is but she’s getting to a doctor to try and identify the problem. “She’s not in any pain but, obviously, she wants to get it sorted as soon as possible.

[From Contact Music]

It could legitimately be a skin infection. Whatever is on her face is definitely very odd looking, and certainly doesn’t resemble a classic bruise. However the odd appearance could be due to Amy’s attempt to cover it up. It’s really not possible to totally rule out some sort of “altercation.” Though there does appear to be some other mark closer to her jawline. According to several medical websites, intravenous drug use increases the chances of contacting several types of skin infections, and also makes it much harder for the body to fight them off. Logically, a person would think, “Clearly Amy Winehouse has a skin infection, because if she got punched in the face she would of course stay home to avoid the paparazzi.” And while a normal, healthy, logical person would do that, Amy Winehouse would not. This is a woman who wanders around bloody and barefoot… and not even on her worst day. That’s just a typical Wednesday afternoon. Considering all the health issues that Amy’s got going on, and the fact that she’s never struck me as a particularly rigid bather, I would really love it if she’d see another doctor… and take her damn finger out of her mouth.

Update: Amy Winehouse has been diagnosed with impetigo, according to her rep, and many of you pointed out in the comments that’s what it looks like. US Weekly quotes the Mayo clinic website as saying that “Although it commonly occurs when bacteria enter the skin through cuts or insect bites, it can also develop in skin that’s perfectly healthy. Impetigo is seldom serious, and minor infections may clear on their own in two to three weeks.”