Dr Lindsay Wu is a researcher and is taking anti-ageing pills. Pix of Dr Wu in his research lab. Pic Stephen Cooper

AUSTRALIAN scientists have discovered a vitamin, nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), that helps cells repair DNA damage and its so good they are taking the pill themselves.

The cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice, after just one week of treatment, said Professor David Sinclair of UNSW School of Medical Sciences and Harvard Medical School Boston.

The study showed middle-aged mice given the vitamin lived 20 per cent longer and were able to run faster.

This is the closest we are to a safe and effective anti-ageing drug thats perhaps only three to five years away from being on the market if the trials go well, says joint researcher Dr Lindsay Wu from the University NSW.

Sydney businesswoman Kate Johnson, 34, runs a natural lip gloss company and said she is keen to try the anti-ageing product when it hits the market.

Im only in my early 30s myself but I would look at something like that in the future, she said.

I know certain facets of the market would think its not natural and say you should age gracefully and Im a huge believer in ageing gracefully, but at the same time you shouldnt apologise for doing something that makes you feel happy or healthy.

This sounds like a drug that will be revolutionary for women who are fickle about ageing and want to load up on drugs to fight it. And (it will be used by) other women who just want another product, just like cleansing their face in the morning.

Dr Wu, aged 33, is not old, but says he has been taking the vitamin pill for a year.

I am using it, Im not supposed to take it but I feel just fine, there are no side-effects, he said.

I take it out of intellectual curiosity.

In a paper published in Science today, the researchers identify a critical step in the molecular process that allows cells to repair damaged DNA.

Research by University NSW scientists Prof Sinclair and Dr Wu into the substance won NASAs iTech competition in December last year because of its potential use in the planned 2025 mission to Mars.

Accelerated ageing caused by cosmic radiation, mental impairment and increased risk of cancer are pitfalls of space travel.

On a trip to Mars five per cent of the astronauts cells will die affecting their mental and physical capacity.

Its hoped this vitamin might be able to reverse that damage says Dr Wu.

Back on earth the medicine promises to help every human defy the ageing process and stay healthy and it has potential to overcome the terrible side effects of cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Its also been found to treat Type 2 diabetes and restore vision following eye damage in animals.

A separate Japanese study showed mice given NMN gained less weight with ageing even when they consumed more food perhaps because their boosted metabolism used more energy.

However, he said the general population should not use it until it has been property tested in clinical trials.

And when clinical trials are complete it wont be on the market to treat ageing, instead it is likely to be used as a therapy to treat the side effects of cancer radiotherapy.

The big problem is that regulatory authorities dont recognise ageing as a disease even though you lose memory, you lose movement and it gives you cancer, he says.

To get approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and Australias Therapeutic Goods Administration NMN will have to be registered to treat a recognised disease like the side effects of radiation.

Things could be about to change though. A US trial is underway to test whether the diabetes drug metformin can extend human life and prevent cancer because of evidence it expands lifespan in animals.

The makers of Metformin will be the first to push the FDA to recognise ageing, change is in the air, says Dr Wu.

The discovery of the vitamin developed out of research into the famed life extending qualities of the molecule resveratrol found in red wine.

HOW IT WORKS

NMN works on the same biological pathway as resveratrol.

Every time we go out into the sun our DNA is damaged but our body repairs the damage, however as we age our bodys ability to do the repairs declines, Dr Wu explains.

A vitamin Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) present in every cell boosts the bodys ability to repair cells but it declines by 60 per cent as we age or when we are exposed to radiation.

If you can boost NAD+ you can boost DNA repair, he says.

The research found that if you treated mice with a NAD+ precursor, or booster, called NMN it improved their cells ability to repair DNA damage caused by radiation exposure or old age.

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Revolutionary anti-ageing drug makes you look younger and live longer - Perth Now