Glossary

cross-resistance – when resistance to one drug causes resistance to other similar drugs.

This commonly happens for every class or family of HIV drugs: nukes, NNRTIs, PIs, integrase inhibitors and entry inhibitors.

codon – the word for the junction on genetic material (DNA or RNA) occupied by three nucleotides (or bases) to form an amino acid. In HIV it is most used when refering to drug resistance. There is an amino acid at each codon and the codons are numbered (starting from 1) for each section of the HIV gene. For example the mutation M184V in RT refers to a mutation change at codon 184 in the reverse transcriptase gene.

morbidity – medical term for illness.

blood sugar – glucose in the blood. When carbohydrates are digested they produce glucose, which circulates in the blood and is used by the body as fuel.

iPrEP (intermittent Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) – using HIV drugs to before a possible exposure to HIV, to reduce the chance of infection. iPrEP refers to taking a reducing dosing shecdule based on when you are likely to be exposed. PrEP usually refers to a daily treatment.