General discussion, page-6223

Recently I have had to help a few people progressing to palliative care and wishing to get their affairs arranged through Powers of Attorney, Advanced Care Plans and the appointment of Medical Decision Makers. They were suffering a combination of illnesses and were all on corticosteriods to lower inflammation and reduce immune system activity for issues such as asthma, COPD and arthritis amongst other complicating issues.
The COPD, asthma cohort all complained of breathlessness and significant weight gain side effects (the weight gain limiting mobility and contributing to the breathlessness by compounding on limited lung function brought by exertion). The arthritis cohort complained that the extra weight made their condition worse and in both cases restricted quality of life.
Any and every drug can have unfortunate side effects and the key to the success of better medications being available is first of of all efficacy, then limiting side effects and then its impact on quality of life. In the IHL stable we have seen that the toxicity impact of HCQ can be reduced with the same if not better efficacy in early trials in relation to arthritis with IHL675A. In IHL42X for OSA if the combination is successful in the current trials, it only has to to hit the efficacy of CPAP to improve the quality of life by not being attached to a machine.
For COPD and asthma if risk of infection (inhaled) and reduced weight gain can be achieved, as well as greater efficacy, then IHL657A will become the new gold standard.
The use of corticosteriods is massive but has significant side effects. Just thinking what can be achieved and if we can come out with a better answer which will improve many peoples quality of life. Just putting it out there.