The Stamina therapy (also known as the Stamina method or simply Stamina) was a controversial and unproven treatment promoted in Italy by Davide Vannoni between 2007 and 2014. Primarily aimed at treating neurodegenerative diseases, the method was based on the purported conversion of mesenchymal stem cells into neurons. However, the details of the method were kept secret by its proponents, and Vannoni never published any scientific data supporting the method in peer-reviewed journals. In the absence of scientific validation, claims of its therapeutic efficacy remain unproven. In response to public demonstrations in support of Stamina and intense media pressure, the Italian government authorized the use of the Stamina therapy in public hospitals in May 2013, despite strong objections from both the Italian and international scientific communities. The experimental treatment was ultimately discontinued in October 2014. Davide Vannoni died in 2019, leaving no one to continue promoting the controversial treatment.
Davide Vannoni Davide Vannoni (1967–2019) was an associate professor at the University of Udine, where he taught in the communication program within the Department of Humanities. In 2009, he founded the Stamina Foundation, a self-declared nonprofit organization, of which he served as president. He also owned a market research company. In 2015, Vannoni was convicted on criminal charges related to the Stamina therapy and sentenced to five and a half years in prison. He died on 10 December 2019, at the age of 52, after a long illness.
Therapy The proposed method involved converting mesenchymal stem cells—normally destined to become bone or adipose tissue—into neurons through brief exposure to retinoic acid diluted in ethanol. The procedure consisted of extracting cells from the patient's bone marrow, exposing them in vitro to an 18 micromolar solution of retinoic acid for two hours, and subsequently reinfusing them into the same patient. Davide Vannoni, the method's creator, repeatedly declined to disclose technical details beyond what was included in a patent application.
Supposed effectiveness Vannoni never provided scientific evidence to support the method’s efficacy but consistently claimed its benefits. These claims were promoted through multiple videos, often self-produced, and frequently aired on television—many of which featured children. According to investigations conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Turin, the improvements shown in these videos lacked objective or scientific verification. They were attributed either to exaggerated claims, concurrent adjuvant therapies, or normal physical development unrelated to the treatment.
History Davide Vannoni claimed that the origin of the Stamina project stemmed from personal experience: in 2007, he was hospitalized in Ukraine for a case of facial palsy and underwent a stem cell transplant, which he said led to partial health improvement. He later decided to offer similar treatment in Italy, collaborating with two Ukrainian biologists, Vyacheslav Klimenko and Olena Shchegelska. The group initially operated from a laboratory in the basement of Vannoni’s company in Turin, before relocating to a beauty center in San Marino.
Between 2007 and 2009, the therapy was administered without oversight or approval from the Italian national health authorities. Promotional leaflets were distributed in hospitals, boasting “over a thousand cases treated,” recovery rates of “70–100%” (including 72 recoveries out of 90 strokes), and a wide range of diseases allegedly treated. Videos showcasing supposed miraculous recoveries were also circulated. During this period, 68 individuals—including three minors—underwent treatment, with 14 patients paying between €4,000 and €55,000. In 2009, following an article in Corriere della Sera, magistrate Raffaele Guariniello opened an investigation to examine the legality of Vannoni's use of stem cells outside legally mandated experimental protocols. That same year, reports surfaced that Vannoni was offering unproven treatments for various neurodegenerative diseases, charging patients between €20,000 and €50,000. The methods used were poorly documented and sometimes harmful. The San Marino beauty center was also investigated for practicing unauthorized medical procedures. While Klimenko and Shchegelska left Italy during the investigation, Vannoni and his associates continued administering therapies across several Italian cities—including Turin, Carmagnola, Trieste, Como, and eventually Brescia. The case of Brescia marked a turning point: through pediatrician Marino Andolina—Vannoni’s collaborator and vice-president of the Stamina Foundation—the therapy was introduced as expanded access at the Civilian Hospitals of Brescia, the second-largest hospital in Italy. Several patients, including children with severe neurodegenerative diseases, received treatment. In early 2012, inspections by the Carabinieri’s Anti-Adulteration Unit and the Italian Medicines Agency revealed numerous violations of hygiene and safety regulations. Essential legal documentation was missing, and the treatments lacked effective concentrations of mesenchymal stem cells. The cells were unable to differentiate into neurons and contained hazardous contaminants. Based on an analysis of the medical records of 36 patients, no clinical improvement was observed—except for three cases, judged solely on subjective assessments. Following these findings, the Stamina treatments at the Brescia hospital were suspended.
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