Indeed, the total picture of MIF involvement in MCAO, although still incomplete, appears to include both deleterious effects during the first week after MCAO not directly linked to inflammatory mechanisms (reduced infarct size in male MIF-KO mice 7 days but not 3 days after MCAO, direct intraneuronal MIF activity after oxygen glucose deprivation leading to neuronal cell death, [28, 29] and protective effects (worse stroke outcome in female MIF-KO mice, [30])). The gene discussed is MIF; the disease is stroke disorder.