TNF and meningeal tuberculosis: Based on analysis of the levels of six cytokines in plasma samples obtained from 14 hospitalized TBM patients, 10 hospitalized PTB patients, and 10 healthy individuals, the plasma levels of TNF-α (64.9 ± 53.0 pg/mL versus 4.5 ± 4.3 pg/mL, P < 0.001), IL-6 (119.8 ± 140.5 pg/mL versus 1.0 ± 1.0 pg/mL, P < 0.01), and IL-10 (1.7 ± 1.2 pg/mL versus 0.4 ± 0.3 pg/mL, P < 0.01) were found to be markedly increased in the TBM group compared to the HC group.