Changes of the serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α after SCI injury in treated and untreated groups. The three inflammatory cytokines (A) IL-1β, (B) IL-6 and (C) TNF-α were measured by ELISA. Their concentrations are normalized to the mean values of the sham group. The data was represented as the mean ± SD. **P<0.01 vs. sham; ***P<0.001 vs. sham; #P<0.05, ##P<0.01 and ###P<0.001 vs. injury; nsP>0.05 vs. Me; and &P<0.05 vs. Me. N=10. IL, interleukin; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; SCI, spinal cord injury.