Glossary

virological failure – the term for when viral load levels never reach undetectable, or if they rebound to higher levels after previously being undetectable. See clinical failure.

immune system – the system that your body uses to fight infections.

bile duct – a tube that carries bile from the liver to the gallbladder and then to the small intestine biopsy: taking a small sample of body tissue for examination and testing in the laboratory

platelet – a blood cell that helps with blood clotting.

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.