Glossary

meningitis – inflammation (-itis) of the meninges (part of fluid that surrounds the brain). Meningitis can be caused by different infections – ie bacterial meningitis (from bacterial infection), viral meningitis (form a virus) etc.

pharmacist – a medical professional who specialises in sourcing and dispensing drugs. A pharmacist should be an expert in drug interactions, and on exactly how drugs should be taken.

DEXA – a non-invasive scan that can measure the percentage of different body areas (whole body, trunk, right leg etc) that are muscle or fat. DEXA scans cannot determine if this is central fat (visceral adipose tissue, VAT) or sub-cutaneous fat (under the skin).

DEXA scan also can measure bone density and is used to monitor risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis.

MSM – men who have sex with men.

virological failure – the term for when viral load levels never reach undetectable, or if they rebound to higher levels after previously being undetectable. See clinical failure.