By Kostas Koukounakas
A hugely popular entertainer (who wished to remain anonymous) could barely keep up with calls from journalists on Thursday. They wanted a comment about Giorgos Mazonakis, whom he knew, but he politely declined to speak about to anyone.
The same person was also familiar with the medical practice in Kolonaki that the popular singer had visited for plasmapheresis treatment. He, too, had gone there, despite not suffering from a blood or neurological disorder for which plasmapheresis is medically recommended. He simply wanted to look young and attractive.
He had heard about the Kolonaki practice from a foreign businessman with ties to Athens.
“I visited the practice, but I left. I saw vials of blood in plain sight and walked out,” he told people close to him.
He declined to speak to Kathimerini, even anonymously. “Things have taken their course,” he said.
As the judicial and health authorities investigate the precise circumstances surrounding Mazonakis’ death, a profitable ecosystem trading in “youth and wellness” is coming to light, one with many grey areas.
Controversial treatments claiming to offer “regenerative” and “rejuvenating” effects are promoted on social media. Private medical practices without certification or properly trained staff are then chosen over hospitals or clinics for reasons of discretion, particularly by people who are easily recognised by the public.
Word about central Athens’ supposed “youth gurus” is spread largely by word of mouth. The problem is that these treatments are often promoted and administered without scientific evidence supporting their use for the condition or purpose in question.
A professor of haematology, who spoke to Kathimerini on condition of anonymity, said that “every field has its grey areas.”
“We have been concerned about practices selling cell therapies, about how some people become rich in a very short time,” the professor said.
Last April, the Hellenic Society for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine held a conference in Athens that examined the dangers of commercially exploiting so-called regenerative treatments.
Alongside medically accepted procedures for a range of serious illnesses and scientific research still at the experimental stage, the conference highlighted what the medical community describes as “unproven stem cell therapies” and “stem cell tourism.”
“Meaningful intervention by the state and the relevant inspection and regulatory authorities is essential, both to control unlicensed or unapproved therapeutic procedures and to investigate the clinics and facilities offering them,” Maria Roubelaki told Kathimerini.
Roubelaki is a professor of biology and regenerative medicine applications at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School and president of the Hellenic Society for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine.
Turkish visitors are often among the clients of this expanding wellness market in Athens.
Sources close to the case said prices vary depending on the treatment and the results being promised. Stem-cell and plasmapheresis treatments can cost between €6,000 and €10,000, while some longevity treatments are even more expensive.
Cell therapies promising to recapture youth are only the tip of the iceberg.
Some private medical practices in Athens, for example, administer intravenous “hangover treatments” costing €500 and advertise them as vitamin solutions.
Doctors reminded Kathimerini of an old, unofficial rule: “Medicines are not advertised, and dietary supplements are not administered intravenously.”
The Health Ministry, the Hellenic Transplant Organisation and the National Organisation for Medicines had previously been informed about the risks associated with offering and advertising unproven or poorly documented cell therapies in Greece.
“People must place their trust in the regulatory authorities and official institutions, and only in medicines that have undergone the required approval and assessment procedures,” National Organisation for Medicines President Spyros Sapounas told Kathimerini on Thursday.
Botox and testosterone
A cosmetics and pharmaceuticals trader is due to stand trial at the Athens Misdemeanours Court in late September for importing Botox products from Turkey and Poland.
According to the Financial Police case file, the products were not certified, and some were imitations of treatments manufactured by major companies.
The importer denies the charges and says the products were approved.
Most of them were delivered to a medical centre in Kolonaki that offers injectable treatments, including non-surgical facelifts, hyaluronic acid fillers and mesotherapy.
Two Botox products, one American and one French, account for the largest share of the Greek market, with doctors paying between €180 and €250 to purchase them. Unapproved Botox products can cost less than half that amount.
At the same time, a case uncovered in Chalandri over the summer revealed the existence of a largely hidden group of men seeking testosterone on the black market.
The testosterone products were labelled “Face cream” and “Vitamin D.”
These are men over the age of 50 who say they need the “magic hormone” for well-being and to boost their masculinity. This perception is reinforced by online advertising and influencers who present natural changes in men’s energy, mood and libido as symptoms of a medical condition.
Testosterone is available by prescription, with patients paying only a small contribution. An indicative average monthly course can cost as little as €15.
Many men, however, continue to seek it on the black market. They do not want the use of externally administered testosterone to appear in their medical history or prescription records.
In pursuit of youth
By Nikolas Ktistakis
Unfortunately, many people advertise, and sell, stem-cell treatments that supposedly make patients several years younger.
To begin with, studies of this kind are extremely limited. Such treatments have been presented only as part of major clinical trials and require special authorisation to be carried out at specialised centres. This is because these cells can cause serious problems in the body if they are not administered under an extremely strict protocol.
There are, indeed, some studies examining what is known as “frailty”, a condition involving reduced physical reserves and greater vulnerability to stressors, in older people. Some have shown modest improvement.
But reversing ageing by five or 10 years is impossible. Anyone who achieved that would deserve a Nobel Prize.
Giorgos Mazonakis was most likely about to undergo a medical procedure resembling dialysis. A heart attack during such a procedure is not rare.
That is why it must be performed at a specialised clinic and supervised by a team of doctors from different fields. This includes nephrologists, who monitor ultrafiltration rates, tailor the composition of the dialysis solution to the individual patient and administer medication to control blood pressure and reduce lipid levels.
*Mr Nikolas Ktistakis is a principal investigator in molecular and cell biology at the University of Cambridge’s Babraham Institute.
