generic drug – drug supplied under its common (chemical) name.
Glossary
Selected words and phrases
genotype (or genotypic) – This term has several common uses:
1. a general term for the molecular structure of a living organism or virus.
2. a test that looks at the structure of an organism of virus (ie genotype resistance test looks for changes in the virus structure – called mutations).
3. a category for different types of similar viruses – ie hepatitis C has many subtypes, referred to as genotype-1, genotype-2 etc. HCV genotype is the strongest predictor of response to hepatitis C treatment.
See also phenotype.
enzyme – a protein produced in the body that triggers or speeds up other chemical reactions.
wild-type virus – HIV that has no drug resistance mutations.
This is usually the virus that you were first infected with. However, approximately 10% of people who are diagnosed with HIV in the UK are likely to already have resistance to one or more HIV drugs.
This is called transmitted drug resistance. This is also why everyone diagnosed with HIV should also have a resistance tests.
Rates of transmitted drug resistance vary in different countries.
resistance tests – tests to show changes to HIV that are associated with drug resistance. Genotype resistance test looks for genetic changes. Phenotype resistance test see whether individual drugs are still active when placed in a test tube with HIV.