Infection is bad news for all of us - but it can be really serious to people who have had a stroke. Evidence is mounting that infection makes things much worse after a stroke. The researchers show that rodents with pneumonia fared worse after having a stroke than those without the bacterial infection. This study builds on previous research demonstrating that an anti-inflammatory drug, called 'interleukin-1 receptor antagonist', could dramatically limit the amount of brain damage in experimental stroke.