Stamina doctor arrested for ALS therapy

(ANSA) - Brescia, June 22 - Marino Andolina, a doctor previously involved in the Stamina medical treatment affair, was among five people arrested in connection with payments made for an "innovative treatment" for serious neuro-degenerative disorders including ALS, police said Monday.
    Andolina was placed under house arrest and three people outside the medical professional were also arrested and face charges including conspiracy to take advantage of the vulnerable. About 30 patients suffering from serious diseases including ALS and leukemia were allegedly misled about the positive effects of the therapy.
    It reportedly involved a form of stem-cell treatment.
    Andolina was vice-president of the Stamina Foundation but in February said the controversial treatment was "dead" and asked for a plea bargain with prosecutors in a case dating to mid-2014.
    His request followed the convictions of two others in connection with the use of the discredited stem-cell treatment that most medical authorities have denounced.
    The founder of Italy's Stamina movement Davide Vannoni was denounced after a study found its treatment was "ignorant of stem-cell biology".
    The Stamina treatment involved extracting bone-marrow stem cells from the patient, turning them into neurons by exposing them to retinoic acid for two hours, and injecting them back into the patient.
    Supporters of the therapy thought it could be a cure for fatal degenerative nerve diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy, while detractors said it was devoid of scientific merit.