 |
|
|
|
Sponsored by:
This HIV Drug Resistance Resource Center is provided to The Body by Monogram Biosciences, which is solely responsible for the information provided here. Neither The Body nor its publisher, Body Health Resources Corporation, endorses or opposes any particular product, service or treatment option. Instead, you are encouraged to discuss your options with a healthcare provider who specializes in treating HIV. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Glossary |
|
|
|
|
|
- Antiretroviral Drug - A drug that is used to fight a retrovirus like HIV.
- Assay - Another word for a laboratory test. (example: HIV drug resistance assay)
- CD4 T Cell Count - A test used to monitor the immune system in people with HIV.
- Cross Resistance - When resistance to one drug causes resistance to another drug of the same type.
- Drug Resistance - When a virus is able to adapt, grow, and multiply in the presence of drugs designed to kill it.
- Entry Inhibitor - A type of antiretroviral drug designed to stop HIV from entering cells in the immune system. [example: FUZEON® (enfuvirtide) T-20]
- Fold Change - In phenotypic testing, fold change is the degree of difference in sensitivity between wild-type virus and the patient virus.
- Genotype - The genetic makeup of a living thing; by identifying the genotype of HIV using a genotypic resistance test, drug resistance can be predicted.
- Genotypic Resistance Test - A test that predicts drug resistance by identifying mutations in the genotype of a person's virus.
- Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) - Treatment which combines three or more antiretroviral drugs with the goal of reducing viral load to undetectable levels.
- Hypersusceptibility - In phenotypic testing, when a person's virus is more sensitive to a drug than wild-type virus.
- IC50 (Inhibitory Concentration 50%) - In phenotypic testing, IC50 is the amount of a particular drug needed to slow the growth of HIV by 50%.
- Mutation - A genetic change in HIV that often occurs when a person is taking antiretroviral drugs, allowing the virus to be drug resistant.
- Non-nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (NNRTI) - A type of antiretroviral drug designed to block the reverse transcriptase enzyme, but not of a nucleoside chemical structure. [example: Sustiva™ (efavirenz) EFV]
- Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor (NRTI) - A type of antiretroviral drug designed to block the reverse transcriptase enzyme. [example: Ziagen™ (abacavir) ABC]
- Phenotype - The physical result or expression of the genotype. By identifying the phenotype of HIV using a phenotypic resistance test, a person's sensitivity to antiretroviral drugs can be measured.
- Phenotypic Cutoff - A standard used in phenotypic testing that identifies when a drug begins to lose effectiveness.
- Phenotypic Resistance Test - A test that directly measures the sensitivity of HIV to antiretroviral drugs.
- Protease - An enzyme in HIV responsible for breaking the HIV viral protein strand into smaller pieces that are needed to form a new, mature virus.
- Protease Inhibitor (PI) - A type of antiretroviral drug designed to stop the protease enzyme from working. [example: Crixivan™ (indinavir) IDV]
- Replication Capacity - The ability of HIV to make copies of itself.
- Reverse Transcriptase - An enzyme in HIV responsible for translating HIV RNA into DNA.
- Structured Treatment Interruption (STI) - A planned period during which a person stops taking all antiretroviral drugs.
- Susceptibility - Sensitivity to antiretroviral drugs.
- Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) - The use of laboratory tests to measure the amount of antiretroviral drug in a person's bloodstream.
- Treatment-experienced - Description for people who have already received drugs for the treatment of HIV.
- Treatment-naïve - Description for people who have never been treated with drugs for HIV.
- Viral Fitness - A term describing how well a virus can grow, multiply and thrive in a certain environment. Replication Capacity is a part of viral fitness.
- Viral Load - The amount of HIV in a person's blood.
- Virtual Phenotype - A type of genotypic resistance test that predicts resistance by comparing a person's genotype to a database of phenotype-genotype matches.
- Wild-type Virus - A term used to describe a strain of HIV that does not contain drug resistance mutations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Is an HIV drug resistance test right for you? If so, which kind? Click here |
|
|
|
 |
 |
How to check if you're covered for an HIV resistance test.
Click here or call
1-877-436-6243. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
