Glossary

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

T1/2 (half-life) –  the time taken a drug to clear from the highest concentration to half this level. Drugs have different half-lives in different compartments (ie half-life in blood can be different from the half-life inside a cell). It take 5 x the half-live for a drug to be considered cleared.

What happens when you take a drug?

tachycardia refers to when the heart beats too fast.

bradycardia is when the heart beats too slowly.

See: arrhythmia

HIV transmission is when the virus passes from one person to another. When this is from mother to baby it is called mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), perinatal or vertical transmission. Children who become HIV-positive in this way are called vertically infected children

viral load – the amount of virus in a sample of blood or other fluid. With HIV this is commonly the amount of HIV in a millilitre (mL) of blood. See viral load test.