In mice in which cerebral stroke was induced by transient middle carotid occlusion (MCAO), genetic interventions that undermine autophagy, including Sod2 (superoxide dismutase 2, mitochondrial) inactivation (Mehta et al, 2011) or shRNA‐mediated silencing of Tsc1 (TSC complex subunit 1) (Papadakis et al, 2013), aggravate the neurological sequelae instigated by the stroke episode. This evidence concerns the gene SOD2 and stroke disorder.