TNF and Stroke: Similar to TNF-α, plasma IL-6 levels were significantly increased ∼20% at 12 h poststroke compared to prestroke (52.46 ± 2.44 pg/ml vs. 44.01 ± 0.85 pg/ml, respectively, P = 0.01) and returned to prestroke levels by 5 days poststroke (44.94 ± 1.07 pg/ml, Figure 2B), confirming an elevated inflammatory response during the acute stage of stroke in the pig model.