Fountain of youth soon in pill form...

Fountain of youth pill 'is just two years away from shop shelves'

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:41 PM on 23rd September 2010

It may sound like science fiction, but researchers believe they have discovered a 'Holy Grail' anti-ageing pill that will add decades to your life.

Russian Professor Vladimir Skulachev has been working for 40 years on an anti-oxidant that stops the gradual deterioration of the body caused by ageing.

Now following animal trials, the scientist from Moscow State University said the treatment is just two years away from hitting the shop shelves.

The pill could potentially add decades to an average person's life-span and help them stay healthier up until their death.

The drug will use an anti-oxidant that has been nicknamed 'Skulachev's ion'. The anti-oxidant works by affecting how oxygen reacts inside the body. 

Professor Skulachev, 69, has spent 40 years trying to create the elixir of youth

Oxygen takes part in the energy exchange process in the body's cells, however the gas can eventually destroy them as it takes on active and poisonous forms.

Professor Skulachev said: 'Ninety-nine per cent of the time oxygen turns into harmless water, but there's that one percent that turns into a super-oxide that later turns into very poisonous elements.

'So the task was to find an anti-oxidant that stops that process.'

Anti-oxidants have been found to prevent this fatal process but are not strong enough to have a lasting impact. 

So Professor Skulachev has been working to create a synthetic drug with a more potent anti-oxidant.

The 69-year-old said the most difficult part of the process has been trying to prevent any side effects.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1314524/Fountain-youth-pill-just-years-shop-shelves.html#ixzz10M8Zbght