IL6 and Stroke: Stroke injury is propagated by a strong immune and inflammatory response through the activation of microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, which produce pro‐inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) in response to damage‐associated molecular patterns (DAMPS) within minutes after onset of ischemia (Hossmann, 2006; Jin, Yang, & Li, 2010; Xiong, Liu, & Yang, 2016).