Μake us preferred on Google The sudden death of Greek singer Giorgos Mazonakis during a plasmapheresis procedure at a private clinic in Athens has prompted warnings from two prominent professors of biology and medicine about the promotion of medical treatments without sufficient scientific evidence.
Maria Gazouli, a professor of Biology-Nanomedicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School and Greece’s representative to the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Advanced Therapies, and Maria (Maya) Roubelaki, a professor of Biology and Applications of Regenerative Medicine at the same medical school, addressed the issue in separate public posts.
Both criticized what they described as the ease with which members of the public can be persuaded by claims surrounding purported “regenerative” and “anti-aging” medical interventions.
Call for evidence and regulatory approval
Gazouli urged the public not to be swayed by impressive-sounding claims and promises, but instead to examine whether a treatment has been properly evaluated and approved by the relevant regulatory authorities for the specific medical indication.
She also stressed the importance of sufficient scientific data demonstrating both the treatment’s effectiveness and safety.
Gazouli called for systematic oversight by the competent authorities of treatments that are presented and promoted to the public, particularly when they are marketed directly to consumers.
“Science needs evidence, transparency and accountability — not impressions and easy promises,” she said.
Drawing on her experience with the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Advanced Therapies, Gazouli said the issue had already been raised by the committee several years ago.
She emphasized that scientific evidence and strict regulatory oversight remain essential for distinguishing a promising therapeutic approach from what amounts to a commercial promise.
Concerns over regenerative medicine
Roubelaki similarly highlighted concerns about the application and promotion of therapeutic approaches that, she said, may lack sufficient scientific evidence for the specific medical indications for which they are presented.
She stressed that the issue should be considered regardless of the exact cause of Mazonakis’ death and without presuming any connection between his death and a medical treatment.
Roubelaki referred to repeated statements by the Hellenic Society for Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine concerning similar practices.
Among the initiatives she cited was the April 27, 2026 conference “Truths and Myths About Cell Therapies,” which was organized to provide the public with reliable information. She also referred to formal written interventions by the society to the relevant authorities.
Roubelaki expressed concern about the continued promotion of treatments to the public using terms such as “regenerative” and “anti-aging” when, she said, it is not always clear whether they are licensed treatments, what scientific evidence supports them, what their approved indications are, or what safety data are available.
She concluded that protecting patients and ensuring that the public receives accurate information requires responsibility, transparency and the practice of medicine based on scientifically supported evidence.
