Glossary

antepartum refers to the time during pregnancy before a baby is born. Antepartum refers to the mother.

See: intrapartum and postpartum.

albumin – a protein made by the liver. It carries drugs, hormones and waste products through the blood and maintains fluid levels within the body. An abnormally low level of albumin is a sign of serious liver damage.

fixed dose combination (FDC) – several drugs combined in one tablet at a standard dose.

tropism – the type of coreceptor used by HIV in order to attach to and then infect a cell. If HIV uses the CCR5 coreceptor on the surface of the a CD4 cell it is called R5-tropic. If it uses the CXCR4 co receptor it is called R4-tropic). Early HIV infection is usually R5-tropic but over time, especially in late disease (if CD4 counts drop to less than 50 cells/mm3) the virus shifts to being X4-tropic.  Mixed tropic refers to a having some viruses that use R5 and some that use X4.

European Medicines Agency (EMA) – the EMA is the part of the European Union that is responsible for approving and regulating human and animal medicines and medical products.

See: www.ema.europa.eu/en