Second, HGF levels may be useful in diagnosing ischemic stroke as an earlier study shows that serum levels of HGF in patients with cerebral infarction are significantly increased during the early stage and remain elevated until 7 d poststroke and that higher HGF concentrations are correlated with lower gains in the Stroke Impairment Assessment Set in stroke rehabilitation. The gene discussed is HGF; the disease is ischemic stroke.