European Medicines Agency (EMA) – the EMA is the part of the European Union that is responsible for approving and regulating human and animal medicines and medical products.
See: www.ema.europa.eu/en
Glossary
Selected words and phrases
hepatic encephalopathy – brain disease that occurs when serious liver damage prevents toxic substances from being flitered out of the blood, and they enter the brain. See encephalopathy.
AST (aspartate aminotransferase; also called serum glutamicoxaloacetic transaminase; SGOT) – an enzyme that is made in many places throughout the body (heart, intestines, muscle) , which is monitored (as with ALT) routinely in HIV-positive people on ARVs to detect liver toxicity from HIV drugs (or other medications). Elevated AST that is specifically made in the liver signals liver injury, but does not indicate how serious liver damage is.
PT (prothrombin time; pro-time) – PT testing measures the amount of time it takes for blood to clot. When the liver is damaged, its ability to make clotting factors is impaired. If this time increases – referred to as a prolonged PT interval – it shows that the liver is not working so well.
lipodystrophy – body fat changes, including fat loss (from arms, legs, buttocks and face) and/or fat gain (in abdomen, breasts and shoulders). The lipodystrophy syndrome also includes metabolic changes in lipid and glucose metabolism.