Glossary

CD4% – percentage of total lymphocytes (white blood cells) that are CD4 cells.

coronary heart disease (CHD) refers to the three main arteries that supply blood from the heart.

A coronary by-pass is a surgical operation to provide a new route for blood to reach the heart when coronary arteries become blocked.

elite controller (EC) – an HIV positive person whose immune system keeps viral load undetectable for more than five years without ART.

Elite controllers also have a very good CD4 count (always above 500 cells/mm³) that stays at a similar level over many years.

Even with this good immune response, ART is still generally recommended in the long-term. This is because over decades – some ECs have been undetectable for more than 20 years – there is a concern that low level HIV in different body compartments like the brain, might lead to accumulative serious damage that isn’t easy to detect until it is too late.

This is a real concern, though evidence is limited because of the rarity of ECs.

See: long-term slow progresso (LTSP)/long-term non-progessor (LTNP).

in-vivo – a study carried out in humans.

formulation – the physical form that makes an active drug into a medicine.

Different formulations include

• Pills (capsules or tablets).
• Syrups or other oral solutions.
• Injections.
• Powders.
• Creams or lotions.

A co-formulation is when two active drugs are combined. For example: when two active drugs are in the same pill.