Glossary

blood sugar – glucose in the blood. When carbohydrates are digested they produce glucose, which circulates in the blood and is used by the body as fuel.

Portacath – a small medical device fitted under the skin that allows injected drugs to have a more direct route to where they are needed.

codon – the word for the junction on genetic material (DNA or RNA) occupied by three nucleotides (or bases) to form an amino acid. In HIV it is most used when refering to drug resistance. There is an amino acid at each codon and the codons are numbered (starting from 1) for each section of the HIV gene. For example the mutation M184V in RT refers to a mutation change at codon 184 in the reverse transcriptase gene.

Atherosclerosis refers to a narrowing or hardening of large and medium sized arteries.

The narrowing is caused by a build-up of plaque, and usually takes many years.

As the walls of the artery thicken, the heart has to work harder to pump the same amount of blood through a narrower gap.

combination – mixture of drugs to treat HIV.