Hugo Moser (scientist)

Moser worked on lipid chemistry with Manfred Karnofsky, until becoming a resident in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where he established a neurochemistry program.

Moser spent formative years in the research laboratories of the neurochemist Jordi Folch-Pi and Marjorie Lees at McLean Hospital.

When training with other neurologists under Ray Adams at the Fernald State School in Waltham, Massachusetts, Moser became interested in providing better services for persons with developmental and physical disabilities.

During this time he became a Harvard University Professor of Neurology at MGH, and established a model of a close link between clinical practice, training and community services for the developmentally disabled and bench research.

In 1976, Moser accepted the position of president of the Kennedy Krieger Institute and professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

Yasuo Kishimoto, who had helped Kuni Suzuki make the discovery of elevated very long chain fatty acids in Adrenoleukodystrophy brains at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, followed Moser from the Shriver Center to the Kennedy Institute.

Beyond establishing the diagnostic testing for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, Moser also contributed to the discovery of the gene for X-ALD.

During an interview with the American Neurological Association, he recalled how a post-doc by the name of Patrick Aubourg had come from Paris to work in his lab.

Together with the parents’ association United Leukodystrophy Foundation he provided support and guidance for families stricken by this devastating illness.

Moser went on to collaborate a great deal with the University of Minnesota, where Bill Krivit and Charlie Peters developed a unique method of transplantation of ALD boys.

Odone made an independent intellectual computation – namely that the use of erucic acid, which is C-22:1 (C-22 monounsaturated), would increase the effectiveness – and Lorenzo's oil was developed.

Controlled studies, however, indicate that Lorenzo's oil is not effective at treating symptomatic ALD,[3] although it may delay the onset of symptoms if taken before they set in.