The Myelin Project was a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1989 by Augusto Odone and his wife, Michaela and their friend Patti Chapman.
The story of the Odones' struggle was dramatized in the 1992 Hollywood film Lorenzo's Oil, starring actors Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon and Peter Ustinov.
After 20 years, the Myelin Project was merged into another organization called ALD Connect in July 2019.
The Myelin Project aimed to advance research, advocacy, and family support for ALD and adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN).
[3] Patti Chapman, who was the president of the organization during its entire duration and since 2019 has been a board member of ALD Connect, had two brothers die of AMN, and had a son, Michael, born in 1979, who began developing symptoms of AMN in 2005 at the age of 26.