IRF4 and Stroke: The detrimental IRF5 and beneficial IRF4 data are consistent with their pro- or anti-inflammatory profile respectively; together with our previous studies on these IRFs with neonatal [32, 33, 44] and young adult [11, 12] stroke model, we conclude that IRF5-IRF4 regulatory axis regulate the post-stroke inflammation throughout the life span, and have significant effect on stroke outcomes.