# Did an Alternative-Medicine Guru Accidentally Kill Patients?

> Swiss doctor Rau’s alternative treatments led to two deaths after alpha-lipoic acid infusions.
- Title: Did an Alternative-Medicine Guru Accidentally Kill Patients?
- Summary: Swiss doctor Rau’s alternative treatments led to two deaths after alpha-lipoic acid infusions. sam darnold, seahawks, seattle · reported by The New Yorker.
- Keywords: sam darnold, seahawks, seattle, nfl, politics, news, Did, Alternative-Medicine, Guru, Accidentally, Kill, Patients
- Source: The New Yorker — https://newyorker.com/magazine/2026/11/02/did-an-alternative-medicine-guru-accidentally-kill-patients
- Author: D. T. Max
- Published: 2026-10-26T10:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: sam darnold, seahawks, seattle, nfl, politics, news
## Rau’s alternative treatments
Rau, a Swiss doctor, uses colon hydrotherapy, ozone treatments, and hyperthermia therapy for patients with unclear conditions.
## Rau’s patient outcomes
Rau claims eighty percent of patients with long COVID or chronic fatigue syndrome improve significantly after his treatments.
## Rau’s treatments
Rau’s treatments include alpha-lipoic acid infusions, which are not approved by the FDA for any condition.
## Rau’s patient log
Rau wrote in Lanitis’s medical log that she was 'healthy' with mostly stomach symptoms and sleep problems.
## Lanitis’s condition
Lanitis, a seventy-year-old Cypriot woman, arrived at BioMed with bursitis, dental pain, and digestive issues.
## Lanitis’s treatment
Lanitis received yarrow compresses, ginger wraps, hyperthermia therapy, and a colon cleanse before an alpha-lipoic acid infusion.
## Lanitis’s reaction
Lanitis experienced severe abdominal pain within hours of the alpha-lipoic acid infusion, with a platelet count dropping to seventy-nine billion per litre.
## Lanitis’s death
Lanitis died the next day after being transferred to a hospital in St. Gallen, where she vomited blood.
## Ammann’s case
Ammann, a wealthy art dealer, received an alpha-lipoic acid infusion and later developed abdominal pain and vomiting.
## Ammann’s death
Ammann died the next day after being admitted to University Hospital in Zurich, with a postmortem attributing her death to cardiovascular failure and septic shock.
## Investigation
Swiss prosecutors investigated the deaths but the clinic remained open, with no criminal charges filed against Rau.
## Rau’s response
Rau claimed he would not have covered up Lanitis’s death and admitted using alpha-lipoic acid off-label.
## Rau’s testimony
Rau testified that Lanitis’s condition was a classic indication for the alpha-lipoic acid infusion and that Ammann’s death was unclear.
## Rau’s clinic
BioMed, Rau’s clinic in Schwellbrunn, Switzerland, offers alternative treatments including detoxifying infusions and hyperthermia therapy.
## Rau’s reputation
Rau has been practicing for forty-four years and is known as the 'Mozart of medicine' in his book 'The Swiss Secret to Optimal Health.'
## Rau’s stance
Rau believes alternative medicine should be the fundamental form of medicine, with conventional treatments used only when necessary.
## Key takeaway

Swiss doctor Rau’s alternative treatments caused two deaths after alpha-lipoic acid infusions.