TNF and Hypertension: We studied tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α (HIF-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), which were linked with the presence of MRI signs of cSVD in a previous screening study of individuals of working age with and without hypertension [22].