Fig. 2

Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of neuroinflammation are predominately increased in athletes with persistent post-concussive symptoms. A Cytokine panel 1: Interleukin (IL)-5, tumor necrosis factor beta (TNF-β), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). B Proinflammatory panel 1: IL-2 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). C Chemokine panel 1: Eotaxin, Eotaxin-3, interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10), and thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC). Biomarkers are presented as boxplots in pg/ml and individual levels indicated by dots. *Indicates a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the evaluated biomarker between concussed athletes and athletic age- and sex matched controls