Overview

• Researchers randomized 31 previously hospitalized people with post-COVID syndrome to an eight-week exercise program or standard care.
• Participants completing the program showed gains in naïve immune cells plus central memory CD4+ and central and effector memory CD8+ T cells.
• The study was presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam by Dr Enya Daynes from a team led by Professor Nicolette Bishop of Loughborough University.
• An independent ERS expert said improved immune-cell function could translate into fewer symptoms such as fatigue and joint pain with potentially better defenses against infections.
• Authors acknowledged limits including the small sample, focus on hospitalized patients, and conference-stage data, and they plan follow-up work in non-hospitalized groups.