Scientists have reported that just a little amount of exercise can prevent or treat age related memory loss, as a study from the University of Colorado Boulder revealed that older rats infected by the bacteria E. coli got protected against memory loss as they ran half a mile each week.

Lead researcher Ruth Barrientos said: “With baby boomers currently at retirement age, the risk of diminished memory function in this population is of great concern. Thus, effective noninvasive therapies are of substantial clinical value”.

In the research, it is revealed that a little amount of physical exercise by middle-aged rats majorly protected them against an extreme inflammation in the brain as well as a long-lasting memory impairment that came as a result of severe bacterial infection.

Hence, this is deemed to be a major discovery owing to older people being probe over memory impairments, which is triggered by immune challenges like bacterial infections and surgery.

Barrientos further said: “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that voluntary exercise in rats reduces aging-induced susceptibility to the cognitive impairments that follow a bacterial infection, and the processes thought to underlie these impairments”.