An 82-year-old professor was sentenced to four years in prison for conducting unauthorized clinical trials at an abbey. The professor, Jean-Bernard Fourtillan, was found guilty by the Paris correctional court on October 1st of conducting interventional research on humans without official authorization, practicing medicine and pharmacy illegally, and committing fraud and breach of trust. These charges were related to the testing of patches he developed to treat Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. The court issued an arrest warrant for Fourtillan and banned him from working in health and pharmacy fields. It also ordered him to pay significant compensation to those affected by his actions. The trials were conducted on volunteer subjects. Fourtillan, a pharmacist and lecturer, claimed to have discovered a hormone secreted by the brain’s pineal gland, which he named valentonine. He believed this hormone, when combined with another called 6-methoxy-harmalan (6-MH), could treat neurodegenerative diseases. However, these claims were rejected by medical authorities. To test his theory, Fourtillan and his wife organized groups of about 30 people to visit the Saint-Croix Abbey of Saint-Benoît (Vienne), near Poitiers, where the nuns usually host retreats. According to the investigation, nearly 400 people—both patients and healthy individuals—were tested on during 19 nighttime sessions between May 2018 and August 2019. Judge David Mayel explained that Fourtillan tried to convince people that his patches could cure neurodegenerative diseases, a claim that was not supported by existing treatments. To make his argument more credible, he conducted these unregulated trials. The court also noted that Fourtillan was constantly seeking donations, especially from people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, who are often more vulnerable. The judge stated that Fourtillan had diverted about 130,000 euros from the 700,000 euros donated to his "Josefa Fund," named after a Spanish mystic nun, Josefa Menéndez, who died in Poitiers. He had received the donations personally and invested them in gold in secret. Marianne Fourtillan, his wife and a key organizer of the trials, was sentenced to two years in prison, with one year suspended. Professor Henri Joyeux, described as Fourtillan’s "right hand," received a one-year suspended sentence and a 10,000 euro fine. The case highlights the dangers of unregulated medical experimentation and the exploitation of vulnerable individuals for personal gain.