Broadbent, Suzanne, Coutts, Rosanne · Physiological reports · 2017 · DOI
This study tested whether two types of exercise programs could help improve immune system function in ME/CFS patients. Twenty-four ME/CFS patients were assigned to either graded exercise, intermittent exercise, or usual care, and researchers measured specific immune cells before and after 12 weeks. Both exercise programs increased markers of natural killer cell activity without making symptoms worse, and improved patients' exercise capacity.
Understanding whether exercise can safely improve immune function in ME/CFS is critical, as many patients fear exercise worsening. This study provides evidence that carefully designed low-intensity exercise programs may enhance natural killer cell activity—important for fighting infections and surveillance—without causing symptom deterioration, challenging the notion that all exercise is harmful.
This study does not prove that these exercise improvements will persist long-term or translate into clinical health improvements for individual patients. The small sample size and 12-week timeframe limit generalizability, and correlation between improved immune markers and symptom resolution was not established. Additionally, results may not apply to ME/CFS patients with greater severity or different phenotypes.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Broadbent, Suzanne & Coutts, Rosanne (2017). Intermittent and graded exercise effects on NK cell degranulation markers LAMP-1/LAMP-2 and CD8<sup>+</sup>CD38<sup>+</sup> in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.. Physiological reports. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.13091
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-broadbent-2017-intermittent-graded,
author = {Broadbent, Suzanne and Coutts, Rosanne},
title = {Intermittent and graded exercise effects on NK cell degranulation markers LAMP-1/LAMP-2 and CD8<sup>+</sup>CD38<sup>+</sup> in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.},
journal = {Physiological reports},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.14814/phy2.13091},
note = {PubMed: 28275109},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/broadbent-2017-intermittent-graded},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/broadbent-2017-intermittent-graded
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