On Episode 4 of the Stroke Alert Podcast, host Dr. Negar Asdaghi highlights two featured articles from the May 2021 issue of Stroke: “Association of Serum IL-6 With Functional Outcome After Intracerebral Hemorrhage” and “SARS-CoV-2 and Stroke Characteristics: A Report from the Multinational COVID-19 Stroke Study Group.” This episode also features a conversation with Dr. Alvaro Garcia-Tornel Garcia-Camba to discuss his article “Ischemic Core Overestimation on Computed Tomography Perfusion.” Dr. Negar Asdaghi: 1) Can a pro inflammatory marker predict the hematoma size and clinical outcomes in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage? 2) What are the characteristics of stroke patients infected with coronavirus? 3) Is ischemic core reliably represented by the current established cerebral blood flow thresholds on CT perfusion imaging? Or are we underestimating the importance of perfusion overestimating the ischemic core? We will discuss these topics in today's podcast. You're listening to Stroke Alert Podcast. Stay with us. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:                                     From the Editorial Board of Stroke, welcome to the Stroke Alert Podcast. My name is Negar Asdaghi. I'm an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and your host for the monthly Stroke Alert Podcast. For the May 2021 issue of Stroke, we have an exciting program today, as we cover topics from the predictive role of inflammatory markers in intracerebral hemorrhage to characteristics of stroke patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus. Later in the podcast, I have the privilege of interviewing Dr. Alvaro Garcia-Tornel Garcia-Camba from Autonomous University of Barcelona on the topic of ischemic core overestimation by CT perfusion imaging. I hope you enjoy our podcast. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:                                     Intracerebral hemorrhage is an aggressive form of stroke with high morbidity and mortality rates. Increased systemic inflammation may be correlated with more severe neurological presentation, larger hematoma volume, and worse clinical outcome in these patients. Elevated levels of interleukin 6, or IL-6, have been found in the experimental models of ICH and may represent a therapeutic target to reduce the inflammatory response in ICH if similar findings were replicated in clinical studies of patients with ICH. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:                                     In the May issue of the journal, in the study titled “Association of Serum IL-6 With Functional Outcome After Intracerebral Hemorrhage,” Dr. Kevin Sheth from Department of Neurosurgery at Yale University and colleagues performed a pre-specified exploratory analysis of the patients enrolled in the FAST trial, testing the association of admission levels of serum IL-6 with baseline neuroimaging and functional outcome at 90 days. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:                                     But just a reminder for our listeners that FAST trial was a multicenter randomized trial of the recombinant factor VIIa administered in two doses versus placebo in patients with spontaneous nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage presenting within three hours of symptom onset. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:                                     So, in the current analysis, amongst 841 patients enrolled in the trial, 66% were included who had both baseline IL-6 measurements and the follow-up modified Rankin Scale on day 90. Patients were stratified into four quartiles based on their admission IL-6 serum levels from low/normal in quartile one to very high levels in quartile four. And their baseline characteristics, neuroimaging and outcomes were then compared. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:                                     So, what they found is that patients with a poor outcome, defined as modified Rankin Scale of four or higher at 90 days, had a higher median admission IL-6 level than those with a favorable outcome. In their multivariate analysis, for each one nanogram per liter increase in IL-