Primary outcomes
TNF-α
The immediate differences in whole blood in-vitro evoked release levels of IL-1β and TNF-α after between the experimental and control group were the primary outcomes. Fasting heparinised samples of peripheral blood, taken between 08:00 and 09:00 A.M. and processed after 4 h, were used for whole blood culture. To induce the production of these cytokines, whole blood cultures were cultivated for 24 h at 37 °C in a humified 5% CO