Glossary of Terms

AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome - the late stage of infection caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Antiretroviral therapy: treatment with drugs that inhibit the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or other types of retroviruses from multiplying in the body.

Bilirubin: a product that results from the breakdown of hemoglobin. Total and direct bilirubin are usually measured to screen for or to monitor liver or gallbladder problems.

Boosting: the use of the protease inhibitor ritonavir, an HIV drug, to increase the amount of an available HIV drug in your body. Boosting also makes it possible for healthcare providers to lower the doses of certain HIV medicines while maintaining their effectiveness.

CD4+ cell: one of the types of cells that your immune system uses to protect your body from infection. HIV attacks these types of cells and uses them to make more copies of HIV. CD4+ cell counts are one way your doctor tests how your body and HIV drugs are fighting HIV. The higher the number of CD4+ cells, the stronger your immune system. CD4+ cells are also known as T-cells.

Clinical study: a research study that tests the safety of and how well a drug works in humans.

HAART therapy: "Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy" a type of combination therapy used to treat HIV infection, which typically uses three drugs from at least two different classes of drugs, for example nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors.

HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Immune system: your body’s defense system against infection and certain diseases. It includes specialized cells such as B-cells, T-cells and antibodies that protect the body.

Jaundice: a yellowing of the skin, eyes, and urine due to excess bilirubin in the body.

Mutate: a change in a gene or unit of hereditary material in a virus or cell that changes the process of making copies of itself.

Opportunistic infections: an infection that occurs because of a weakened immune system, for example tuberculosis, Pneumocystis jirovecii, pneumonia, and thrush.

Protease inhibitor (PI): a type of anti-HIV drug that prevents the virus from making new copies of itself. They work by disrupting the normal function of the enzyme HIV protease and prevent virus replication. Protease inhibitors are often taken as part of a two- or three-anti-HIV drug cocktail. PIs are able to lower the HIV virus level in the blood until it cannot be measured with current tests.

Regimen: a systematic treatment plan that a doctor prescribes to treat a medical condition, such as HIV.

Resistance: the mutation of an organism, such as HIV, in such a way that it changes its sensitivity to a drug. HIV drugs are often used in combination to prevent resistance.

Scleral icterus: a medical condition in which the whites of your eyes take on a yellowish color.

Side effects: unwanted events like headache, fever, and nausea that may occur when taking medications.

Viral load: the amount of HIV circulating in your body (usually measured in "copies per milliliter" or "copies/mL"). Measuring viral load is important because it determines the amount of HIV in the blood and the severity of disease.