TNF and acute pancreatitis: Another example of TNF-α role in blood-brain barrier regulation during peripheral inflammation occurs after the induction of acute pancreatitis in rats, where an increase in TNF-α levels is observed as early as 6 hours after pancreatitis induction and at the same time increases the blood-brain barrier permeability to sodium fluorescein (365 Da) in the hippocampus and cerebellum as well as to Evans blue in the hippocampus, basal nuclei, and cerebellum.