Chronic swimming routine promotes gut microbiota remodeling and improvements in physical resilience, episodic-like memory, and inflammatory status in late middle-aged mice

Chronic swimming initiated in late middle age improves physical performance and cognitive function in aging mice. These benefits are associated with reduced systemic and hippocampal inflammation, increased neuroprotective markers such as BDNF, and remodeling of the gut microbiota toward taxa linked to metabolic and antiinflammatory functions. Overall, the findings support exercise as a multisystem intervention that enhances resilience across the muscle gut brain axis during aging.