Fig. 8.

Cortical cytokine levels at 6 and 12 h post-CCI. The pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β, Il-6, and TNF-α were significantly elevated 6 h after CCI in the injury and margin regions compared to sham animals (***p < 0.001 for all groups). Statistical analyses showed no difference at 12-h time-point. Six hours after CCI, EFX treatment (50 mg/kg, i.p., 30 min after injury) significantly reduced IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α peaks (^### p < 0.001 for all groups). ***p < 0.001: comparison between sham-vehicle and TBI-vehicle groups; ^### p < 0.001: comparison between TBI-vehicle and TBI-EFX groups