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Glossary

Selected words and phrases

CD8 cell – cell (lymphocyte) in your immune system that kills cells infected with HIV.

ChemSex is a common term used by gay men for drug use that includes at least one of these three recreational drugs: meth, meph and G.

  • Methamphetamine (crystal/crystal meth/Tina/meth).
  • Mephedrone (meph/drone).
  • GHB/GBL* (G, Gina).

Differences between ChemSex and recreational drugs.

mortality – medical word for death or dying.

stage (staging) – the stage of hepatitis infection refers to the amount of scaring (fibrosis), from results from a biposy. It is usually measured on the Metavir scale of 0 to 4, where 0 represents no scarring and 4 cirrhosis, or on the Knodell scale of 0 to 6, where 0 is no scarring and 6 cirrhosis. See grading.

PI (protease inhibitor) – a type of HIV drug.

HIV protease inhibitors include atazanavir, darunavir, fosamprenavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, lopinavir/r (Kaletra), ritonavir, saquinavir and tipranavir.

Drug targets in the virus life cycle

Different protease inhibitors have been developed to treat hepatitis C.