 | | | | | | | | | N Click here to return to list
National Institutes of Health (NIH): A federal agency of the U.S. Public Health Service that includes 13 institutes. NIH supports and does biomedical and health research, trains scientists, and writes and publishes scientific and medical reports.
Neutopenia: Low number of a certain type of white blood cells called neutrophils that fight bacterial and fungal infections.
Nonoxynol-9: A chemical used in some contraceptive creams, foams, and jellies that kills sperm and viruses. Used with a condom, it can offer added protection from HIV.
Nucleoside Analogue: A type of anti viral drug. Examples: AZT, ddI, or ddC. OClick here to return to list
Oral Hairy Leukoplakia (OHL): A white lesion appearing on the tongue in patients with HIV; the lesion appears raised with a corrugated or "hairy" surface. PClick here to return to list
Partner Notification: The process of informing the sexual and needle-sharing partners of an HIV-infected person that they may be at risk for the infection.
Pathogen: Any disease-producing microorganism or material.
p24: A core protein of HIV; levels of p24 are sometimes used as a surrogate marker of an anti-retroviral drug's efficacy.
p24 Antigen Level: A level that can be measured in blood and other body fluids. The test used to measure p24 levels detects the presence of a core protein fragment (p24) on HIV.
Pentamidine: A drug used to treat or prevent pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP).
Peripheral Neuropathy: A disorder of the nerves, usually involving the feet or hands, and sometimes the legs and arms. Symptoms may include numbness, a tingling or burning sensation, sharp pain, weakness, and abnormal reflexes. In severe cases, paralysis may result.
Persistent Generalized Lymphadenopathy (PGL): Chronic, diffused, non cancerous lymph node enAWTxtBold ment.
Phase I: The classification of federally funded trials that test experimental drugs to determine their safety and find the most effective dose.
Phase II: The classification of federally funded trials that test an experimental drug to see how well it works and to study its side effects. Phase II trials often involve several hundred participants who are randomly assigned to take either the drug or a control (the standard treatment for the disease or no treatment at all, known as placebo). These trials are usually double-blinded, which means no one knows who is getting the drug until the trial is over. Length is several months to 2 years.
Phase III: Involves several hundred to several thousand patients. Duration is 1-4 years to test safety, effectiveness, and dosage levels.
Placebo: A look-alike "sugar pill" that is compared with an experimental treatment in a clinical trial. Placebos can be used when there is no other proven treatment for the disease being studied or when there is no immediate danger to withholding treatment temporarily.
Placebo-Controlled: A kind of study in which the experimental treatment being tested is compared to no treatment at all.
PLWA: People living with AIDS.
Pneumocystic Carinii Pneumonia (PCP): A fungal infection of the lungs; this the most common opportunistic infection in AIDS patients.
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): A very sensitive test used in research to detect minute amounts of DNA from an organ.
Polymerase Chain Reaction Test: A test that can detect HIV by looking for the genetic information of the virus; the test can find the virus even if it is present in a very small amount or is hidden inside white blood cells.
Prophylaxis: A treatment given to a person to prevent them from getting a particular disease. Treatment intended to prevent the onset of an infection or disease. QClick here to return to list
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Recombinant: Manufactured; genetically engineered.
Resistance: Diminished effectiveness of a drug against a disease-causing organism.
Retinitis: A general term describing inflammation of the retina. CMV-induced retinitis is a common opportunistic infection in AIDS.
Retrovirus: A class of viruses which includes HIV. Retroviruses are so named because they carry their genetic information in RNA rather than DNA, and the RNA information must be translated "backwards" into DNA.
Reverse Transcriptase: An enzyme essential to the retrovirus that copies the viral RNA into DNA. AZT and other nucleoside analogues apparently inhibit the reverse transcription process. SClick here to return to list
Seroconversion: The change from an absence of HIV antibodies in the blood to the presence of those antibodies.
Seroprevalence: The incidence of disease in a given population.
Serostatus: The condition of having or not having detectable antibodies in the blood serum as a result of infection. A person may have either a positive or negative serostatus.
Shingles: A condition caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox and is characterized by inflammation of nerve endings; an opportunistic infection common to people with AIDS.
Spectrophotometer: An instrument used to read the ELISA test for HIV antibodies; it reads the amount of color present to detect whether the blood has HIV antibodies.
STD: Sexually transmitted disease.
Surrogate markers: Levels of cells or proteins that indirectly indicate HIV activity and are used to mark disease progression.
Syncytium: A non functioning clump of cells that have fused together. HIV-infected cells fuse with non-HIV infected CD4+ cells, forming syncytia and compounding the destruction of CD4+ cells.
Syndrome: A group of symptoms and diseases that together are characteristic of a specific condition. TClick here to return to list
T4 Cell: A type of T-lymphocyte. The T4 cell enhances the immune response to an infection through a complex series of interactions with other types of lymphocytes (B cells, T8 cells), macrophages, antibody-producing cells, and infectious organisms.
T4/T8 Ratios: The existence and complicated action of two types of white blood cells, one which naturally suppresses the immune system and the other which naturally mediates immune action. Together these T-cells keep the immune system in balance.
Thrush: A fungal infection of the mouth and throat caused by candida, marked by white patches in the oral cavity.
Treatment IND: A program to provide experimental treatment free of charge to patients who have no other available treatment options UClick here to return to list
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Wasting Syndrome: A condition characterized by involuntary weight loss of more than 10% of baseline body weight plus either chronic diarrhea or chronic weakness and fever for more than 30 days, when these conditions cannot be explained by any illness other than HIV.
Western Blot: A confirmation test for the presence of specific antibodies that is more accurate than the ELISA test for detecting true negatives. XClick here to return to list
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Zidovudine: (azidothymidine, ZDV, AZT, Retrovir) A thymidine nucleoside analog that inhibits HIV replication. |
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