Compassionate use programmes enable people with life-threatening, long-lasting or seriously disabling illnesses to use drugs that have not yet been authorised. This is usually only for drugs that are near to drug approval, especially for people who would be excluded from research studies.
This is similar to, and sometimes called, a named-patient programme.
Information on compassionate access in the EU.
axis – line on a graph to measure data. Graphs usually have a vertical axis (y-axis) and horizontal axis (x-axis). An axis should show what is being measured and the units of measurement, eg ‘time (in minutes)’.
standard deviation (SD) – the standard deviation from a mean average, is a measure of the degree of variation from the mean.
partially active – the HIV treatment in question will work against this virus but this is reduced compared to wild-type HIV. This is the same as partial resistance, or intermediate resistance etc.
varices – extended or swollen veins in the liver that can burst. They can be a complication of cirrhosis.