Longevity medicine under scrutiny after death of Greek pop star

Mij

Mij

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
The 54-year-old Giorgos Mazonakis suffered a heart attack while undergoing plasma treatment

"Greece’s health ministry is planning legislation to ban clinics from advertising longevity treatments following the death of top pop singer Giorgos Mazonakis while undergoing a plasma treatment.

The sudden death of the 54-year-old singer has shocked Greece. Born in a poor neighbourhood of Athens, Mazonakis went on to become one of the country’s most beloved singers and a well-known philanthropist.

Mazonakis died on 9 September after suffering a heart attack while undergoing plasmapheresis.

The procedure involves removing plasma – the liquid component of blood that contains antibodies, proteins and inflammatory molecules – from the bloodstream and replacing it with a substitute solution. It has long been used to treat a range of autoimmune, neurological and blood disorders, including multiple sclerosis."
 
I was an acute dialysis nurse at referral hospitals decades ago.

Never did plasmapheresis but can imagine the risks of such a procedure. A lack of sufficient electrolyte solution could decrease blood volume which could cause a heart attack. Or just the amount of blood volume leaving the body and into the tubing before replacement fluids are infused....or not having EKG monitoring during the procedure.

I would never recommend having it done as an elective (not medically necessary) procedure because of the risks: the personnel risk (emotional upset, on drugs or alcohol, inattentive, just not competent), the drugs used risk (right drug, right dose, correct fluid volume replacement issues), the equipment (faulty equipment, sensors not functioning, disinfection issues) the stress on the body, the plastic tubing.




Sounds lovely but it ain't.
 
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From the article:

"Under Greek law, such procedures must be carried out by appropriately licensed medical facilities. However, the clinic where Mazonakis underwent plasmapheresis was reportedly not authorised to do so.

The two doctors involved, who were a couple, were arrested after investigators found discrepancies in their statements about the circumstances surrounding the singer’s death.

A medical practice licensed to operate as an internal medicine practice carried out medical procedures that fell outside the scope of its licence. This constitutes a breach of the law and a serious failure to protect the public, as patients were led to believe that the procedures were legally authorised,” Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said on Monday."
 
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