Seniors don't have to be a vigorous athlete in order to reap significant cognitive benefits,a new University of Colorado Boulder study suggests.The study,lead by Research Associate Ruth Barrientos,shows that rats in late middle age which ran just over a half kilometer a week-just over a third of a mile-were profoundly less susceptible to memory loss associated with immunological challenges such as bacterial infection.The rats had been infected with E.coli bacteria.
Previous research with humans has shown the protective power of exercise against cognitive decline such as dementia.It has also uncovered a correlation between immune system challenges and dementia.
Microglia,the brain's immune cells,tend to overreact with age,releasing too many inflammatory molecules called cytokines,which may result in cognitive impairment when the body faces infection or even surgery.
Cytokines are small protein molecules that transmit messages between cells.In the process,they can regulate inflammatory responses.
A little exercise,however,may be effective therapy for an ageing brain with unruly cytokines,according to the CU Boulder study.The study has been published in the current issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.
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