- She has been dubbed the Sleeping Beauty
- and may hold the key to a mystery that has fascinated men and women for
centuries. Fifteen years ago Elena Cappelli fell into a coma after an accident
at work when she was enveloped in a cloud of powerful chemical fumes.
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- She awoke two weeks later - but since
then Elena maintains she has not aged a single day.
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- Now she claims she may have stumbled
upon the secret of eternal youth.
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- Yesterday her story took another twist
when she vanished - leaving her fellow Italians desperate for more details.
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- The 46-year-old furniture-maker made
a complete recovery after her accident and returned to her profession in
the town of Lucca in Tuscany. Since then, it is claimed, she has not aged
like other women.
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- Her face has remained largely wrinkle-free.
Her skin is like that of someone much younger.
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- She went for a check-up and doctors told
her she had unusually robust skin cells.
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- Elena's story was reported by Rome magazine
Liberal which dubbed her the Sleeping Beauty and also published her photograph.
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- She says: "After I came out of hospital
I had a strange feeling of strength.
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- "I felt very clearly that something
had changed in my metabolism. Until today, I have not talked to anyone
about this for fear of seeming crazy."
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- Doctor Saverio Palazzi, who has not met
Elena, told the magazine: "We know very little about what happens
to the skin.
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- "But it is certain that the body's
cells are programmed to destroy themselves with increasing age.
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- IF THIS woman's mechanism has been damaged,
perhaps by the coma, it would be a sensation."
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- Another expert on the ageing process,
Professor Roberto Bernabei, added: "Perhaps it's a case of retarded
ageing."
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- But yesterday doubt was cast on the report
when the magazine said Elena - which is a false name - did not want to
be identified. "She does not want to talk to anyone else," said
a spokesman. "But we stand by our story."
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- Armed with Elena's picture, local journalists
scoured the town of Lucca, which has a population of 90,000, but so far
have drawn a blank.
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- "We can't find anyone who knows
our so-called mystery beauty," said one.
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- Some locals are sceptical. One said:
"Perhaps it's a 'mezza-bufala', as we say in Italy, a mickey-take."
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- But Professor Bernabei said: "It's
a very interesting case. The magazine assures me that this woman exists,
although I've never met her or talked to her.
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- "But I would very much like to see
her as part of my research into the ageing process."
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