Glossary

HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus

AIDS – acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

late breaker – in research, this is a study presented at a medical meeting that was submitted to the conference organisers after the main programme had been decided. There are usually only a few dozen late-breakers, where the last minute results are thought important enough to include – like ‘late-breaking news’. Although this studies often contain the most exciting news, they are given much less time to present their results – maybe less than 10 minutes compared to a normal 15 or 20 minute session. These summary results are also difficult to verify because they include fewer slides and fewer details.

X-ray – an abbreviation for x-radiation. An X-ray lung scan is a common way to look for evidence of TB infection. X-rays can also diagnose bone fractures.

pharmacokinetics – the study of how drugs are absorbed, metabolised and cleared from the body.