Furthermore,previous studies have shown that IL-10 is decreased in OSA patients (23-25).However, TNF-α activates NF-κB and MAPK pathways, which have important roles ininflammation and apoptosis (26) and ICAM-1 isinvolved in the recruitment of macrophages and granulocytes, which may increase thelocal inflammatory load (27). Here, TNF is linked to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.