These findings are consistent with our bioinformatics analysis and suggest that the NF-κB signalling pathway plays an important role in the biological processes mediated by these key genes, including ADM, ANXA3, SLC22A4 and VIM. However, the regulatory relationship among these key genes, the NF-κB signalling pathway and the mechanism of action in ischaemic stroke still need further experimental verification. Here, ADM is linked to ischemic stroke.