**2.1.1 Clinical markers**

We monitored one basic clinical parameter: the hind paw volume (HPV). The HPV increase was calculated as the percentage increase in the HPV on a given experimental day relative to the HPV at the beginning of the experiment. The hind paw volume was recorded on days 1, 14, 21, and 28 with the use of an electronic water plethysmometer (UGO BASILE, Comerio-Varese, Italy). In one of our previous experiments, we confirmed that this clinical parameter became significantly modified starting around day 14 and its significant increase in comparison with healthy controls is maintained until the end of the experiment (Bauerova et al., 2007).
