encephalopathy – degenerative brain function or disease
Glossary
Selected words and phrases
PCR (polymerase chain reaction) – type of viral load test.
undetectable – an amount smaller than a test can measure. For viral load tests, this means below 400 or, more commonly, below 50 copies/mL, depending on the make of test. In research laboratories, some very sensitive tests can measure down to 1 copy/mL.
CMV (cytomegalovirus) – a viral infection. CMV retinitis is an HIV-related infection that can cause permanent vision loss in someone with a CD4 count that is below 50 cells/mm3.
DEXA – a non-invasive scan that can measure the percentage of different body areas (whole body, trunk, right leg etc) that are muscle or fat. DEXA scans cannot determine if this is central fat (visceral adipose tissue, VAT) or sub-cutaneous fat (under the skin).
DEXA scan also can measure bone density and is used to monitor risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis.