“…These mechanisms may partly explain the reduced plasma CRP concentrations with MedDiet in the absence of weight loss even when other proinflammatory cytokines are not significantly altered. Although in our study plasma IL-18 concentrations on the control diet were comparable to those obtained in other populations with MetS, plasma IL-6 and TNF-a concentrations were much lower (about 40-50%) and this may also account for the lack of effect of the MedDiet without weight loss on these proinflammatory markers (11,29,30). Finally, we cannot exclude the possibility that the small reduction observed in plasma IL-6, IL-18, and TNF-a would have been significant with a greater number of subjects.…”