A new University of Colorado Boulder study shows that a small amount of physical exercise could profoundly protect the elderly from long-term memory loss that can happen suddenly following infection, illnesses or injury in old age. “Our research shows that a small amount of physical exercise by late middle-aged rats profoundly protects against exaggerated inflammation in the brain and long-lasting memory impairments that follow a serious bacterial infection,” said Ruth Barrientos of the psychology and neuroscience department. The results of the study will appear in the Aug. 10 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience. Past research has shown that exercise in humans protects against declines in cognitive function associated with aging and protects against dementia.