Supporting our notion that the elevations in sCD163 which we observed in ischemic stroke were a direct result of the stroke-induced neurological insult is the fact that it has recently been reported that levels of macrophage-derived sCD163 are elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid of pediatric traumatic brain injury patients45, providing concurrent evidence that cerebral injury has the capacity to directly trigger increased sCD163 production independent of atherosclerotic pathology. The gene discussed is CD163; the disease is ischemic stroke.