Acute Infection: Any infection that begins suddenly, with intense or severe symptoms, is called acute. If the illness lasts more than a couple of weeks, it is called chronic.
AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome): A disease caused by a retrovirus, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), and characterized by failure of the immune system to protect against infections and certain cancers.
AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG): A set of about 50 research centers around the country where federally funded drug trials are conducted.
AIDS-Related Complex: (ARC) A condition caused by HIV in which the person is positive for HIV and has clinical symptoms not generally as severe as those of AIDS.
Alternative Therapies: Unconventional approaches that some people believe to be effective in treating HIV infection; these include acupuncture, visualization, crystals, and macrobiotics.
Amphotericin B: A drug used to treat fungal infections, including candidiasis (thrush).
Anonymous Testing: Testing done with no personal identifying information recorded; only the person tested can obtain the results.
Antibiotic: A drug used to combat bacterial infection by killing bacteria or slowing their growth.
Antibody: A substance in the blood formed in response to invading disease agents such as viruses, fungi, bacteria, and parasites. Usually antibodies defend the body against invading disease agents, however, the HIV antibody does not give such protection.
Antibody-Negative Test Result: Test result in which no signs of antibodies to HIV are detected; the person either does not have HIV or has recently become infected with HIV but does not yet have detectable antibodies.
Antibody-Positive Test Result: Test result in which antibodies to HIV are detected; the person is assumed to be infected with HIV if both the ELISA and Western Blot tests show positive results.
Antibodies: Proteins produced by plasma cells in response to a specific foreign organism. These proteins in the blood tag, destroy, or neutralize bacteria, viruses, or other harmful toxins.
Antigen: An invading substance that may be the target of antibodies.
Antigen Test: A blood test that looks for HIV itself, rather than antibodies; can detect HIV in persons who were recently infected and do not yet have detectable antibodies. Test used mainly in research centers.
Antiviral: A substance that stops or suppresses the activity of a virus.
Antiretroviral: A treatment that may prevent HIV from damaging the immune system.
Antiviral Activity: The action of an agent that stops or suppresses the activity of a virus.
Asymptomatic: Having no signs or symptoms of a disease, yet able to transmit the causative agent.
Autoimmune Disease: A disease which arises from and is directed against an individual's own tissues.
Autologous Donation: Blood donated by someone for his or her own later use, usually in elective surgery.
AZT: See Zidovudine.
Bacteria: Microscopic organisms that can cause disease.
Bacterial Infections: Diseases caused by bacteria, such as syphilis and tuberculosis. Most are responsive to medical treatment.
Bactrim: (trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole). Also known as Septra. An antibacterial agent used to treat pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, among other diseases.
B-Cell: A white blood cell that makes antibodies against disease agents in the body.
Blood-Borne Disease: Infections whose disease agents are carried in the bloodstream, such as HIV and hepatitis B.
Blood-to-Blood Contact: The mixing together of blood from two or more people. Principal ways of transmitting HIV through blood-to-blood contact are by shared needles or syringes, blood transfusions, clotting factors, organ transplant, and from mother to baby or during birth.
Boarder Babies: Infants who remain hospitalized longer than necessary because there is no one to care for them.
Body Fluid: Fluids that the body makes, such as tears, saliva, sweat, blood, vaginal fluid, semen, breast milk.
Candidiasis: A fungal infection which occurs in several places in the body, including the mouth or throat (thrush), in the vagina, or on the skin; a common opportunistic infection in people with HIV.
Casual Contact: Social contact, such as kissing on the cheek, shaking hands, using a telephone, toilet, swimming pool, working in an office; not a means of HIV transmission.
CD4 (T4): A protein receptor embedded in the cell surface of T-lymphocytes, monocytes/macrophages, Langerhans cells, astrocytes, keratinocytes, and glial cells. HIV invades cells by first attaching to the CD4 receptor molecules.
Centers for Disease Control: (CDC) Federal health agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; provides national health and safety guidelines and statistical data on AIDS and other diseases.
Chronic: A prolonged, continuing, persistent, lingering, or recurring state or disease.
Chronic Infection: An infection that persists for longer than a couple of weeks or recurs over time.
Chronically Infected: Cells infected with HIV that carry the blue prints of the virus in them and therefore continually make new HIV.
Clinical: Human; or having direct affect on the human body.
Clinical Trial: A test of a new drug or treatment in people. It is the way doctors study the benefits and risks of using a new treatment for a disease.
CMV: (Cytomegalovirus) A virus related to the herpes family. CMV may occur without any symptoms or may result in mild flu-like symptoms. Severe infections can result in retinitis, hepatitis, mononucleosis, colitis, or pneumonia in persons with HIV. CMV is shed in body fluids such as urine, semen, saliva, feces, and sweat.
Cognition: The ability to think.
Confidential Testing: Testing in which results are linked to persons and recorded in medical files. State laws limit who can have access to the results and under what conditions they can gain access.
Confidentiality: Keeping information private.
Connective Tissue: Type of tissue that supports and binds together other tissues and organs; frequently the site of Kaposi's sarcoma lesions in people with AIDS.
Core Protein: An integral protein in HIV composed of three units: p24, p15, and p18.
Cryptococcus: A fungal infection rarely seen in healthy persons but common in persons with HIV. Is acquired via the respiratory tract and characteristically spreads to the meninges (lining of the brain and spinal cord) and may also infect the kidneys and skin.
Cryptosporidiosis: An infection caused by a protozoan parasite found in the intestines of animals: it may be transmitted to humans by direct contact with an infected animal or by ingestion of contaminated food or water. The parasite grows in the intestine and causes severe chronic diarrhea in persons with HIV.
Cytokine: A chemical messenger secreted by immune cells to regulate immune activity.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV): A virus related to the herpes family that can cause fever, fatigue, enlarged lymph glands, aching, and a mild sore throat. In AIDS, CMV infections can produce hepatitis, pneumonia, retinitis, and colitis. It can sometimes lead to blindness, chronic diarrhea, and death.
ddC: (dideoxycytidine) A drug that inhibits HIV through inhibition of reverse transcription.
ddI: (dideoxyinosine) A drug that inhibits HIV through inhibition of reverse transcription.
Disinfectant: A chemical that destroys disease agents: e.g., liquid chlorine bleach can be used to clean needles and syringes.
Disseminated: Scattered throughout the body.
DNA: (deoxyribonucleic acid) A complex protein that carries genetic information. HIV can insert itself into the DNA molecules inside human cells and establish dormant infection.
Double-Blinded: A kind of trial in which neither the participants nor the doctors know who is receiving the experimental drug and who is receiving placebo or other treatments.
Efficacy: Effectiveness of a drug at the dose tested and against the illness for which it is prescribed.
Eligibility Criteria: Key facts about a person's health that make that person suitalbe, or not suitable, for a certain research study. Examples of these facts include: a person's age, what symptoms of HIV or other illness he or she has; results of certain lab tests; a person's overall health; and past treatments.
ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay): A blood test used to detect the presence of antibodies to HIV; results that show the presence of HIV antibodies must be confirmed by the Western Blot test before a person is considered to be HIV-infected. Has high degree of sensitivity (accurate for detecting true positive samples).
Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain, frequently caused by a viral infection.
Envelope: Any natural enclosing covering. The HIV envelope is composed of two units: gp120 and gp41; gp120 binds to the CD4 surface protein.
Esophageal Candidiasis: Serious fungal infection in the conduit between the mouth and the stomach (the esophagus).
Exclusion Criteria: A list of characteristics that will keep a person out of a trial. In this way people with certain medical conditions or histories, who could be harmed by the drug, are protected.
Expanded Access: Procedures whereby experimental drugs are distributed free to patients who are unable to participate in human trials and have no other treatment options available. Also called "open label study".
Experimental Treatment: An experimental treatment is one that has not yet been proven to be effective for treating a particular disease or condition. Clinical trials test experimental treatments in people.
Factor VIII: One of the clotting factors in the blood. Congenital absence of Factor VIII results in hemophilia A.
False-Negative Test: An antibody test that shows negative results even though the blood sample contains the virus. This is an uncommon event, it usually occurs in people recently infected with HIV who do not yet have detectable antibodies.
Four Spheres of Action: The "Four Spheres of Action" structure represents the four areas of responsibility and action (Operational, Medical, Managerial, and Community) where activities can be undertaken in relation to HIV/AIDS and make up a company’s program. The objective of this structure is to help design a program that ensures ownership over diverse projects/sites, functions in the company (senior management, human resources, operational management, clinical services), and in the community. Needs, capabilities, choices and actions undertaken in each of the areas, taken all together, will shape the contribution of the company and its communities in the country to their common HIV/AIDS issue. Through this approach, partnerships can also be developed between the company’s staff who will participate and/or manage the program and NGOs, government programs, and other companies’ activities. The members of the committees (staff, individuals and volunteers) in each sphere cooperate and use each other's strengths to maximize the chances of success.
The Program’s Focal Point is a facilitator, who is responsible for coordinating the activities undertaken within the Four Spheres of Action across the different entities of the company in the country, for providing technical assistance and for reporting back to the Supervisory Committee.
Fungus: A general term used to denote a class of microbes including mushrooms, yeasts, and molds.
Ganciclovir (DHPG): A drug used to treat cytomegalovirus infection.
Genome: The DNA that comprises the complete genetic composition of an organism.
Hairy Leukoplakia: A whitish, slightly raised lesion that appears on the side of the tongue. Thought to be related to Epstein-Barr Virus infection.
Half-Life: The amount of time it takes for half of a dose of any drug to be eliminated from the body.
Helper-Suppressor Ratio: The ratio of "helper" T4 cells to "suppressor" T8 cells. The T4/T8 ratio is normally about 2, but in HIV-infected persons the ratio frequently drops below 1.
Hemophilia: An inherited disease that prevents the normal clotting of blood.
Hepatitis B: A viral infection that affects the liver and is transmitted only through blood-to-blood and sexual contact.
Herpes Virus: A family of viruses that cause herpes simplex (cold sores), herpes zoster (shingles), Epstein-Barr (infectious mononucleosis), and cytomegalovirus. These viruses tend to occur in a severe form in an immunocompromised person, such as one with HIV.
Histoplasmosis: A fungal respiratory disease.
HIV: See Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
HTLV-III: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus, type III. An earlier term for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): HIV is the virus that causes the Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome(AIDS). HIV attacks and slowly destroys the immune system by entering and destroying the cells that control and support the immune response system. After a long period of infection, usually 3-7 years, enough of the immune system cells have been destroyed to lead to immune deficiency. The virus can therefore be present in the body for several years before symptoms appear. When a person is immuno deficient, the body has difficulty defending itself against many infections and certain cancers, known as “opportunistic infections”.
It is possible to monitor the development and degree of immuno deficiency, and while the impacts of the disease can be mitigated with proper treatment, there is no cure for AIDS once a person is infected with HIV.
There are three main ways in which HIV is transmitted among people:
(i) By sexual contact
(ii) When infected blood is passed into the body (e.g., through blood transfusion or use of non-sterilized material)
(iii) From an infected mother to her child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Type 1 (HIV-1): The retrovirus recognized as the etiologic agent of AIDS.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Type 2 (HIV-2): A virus very similar to HIV-1 that has been found to cause immune suppression. HIV-2 infections are found primarily in Africa.
IL-2: A substance made by the immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria, called interleukin-2.
Immune Deficiency: A breakdown or inability of certain parts of the immune system to function, thus making a person susceptible to certain diseases that he or she would not ordinarily develop.
Immune System: The complex functions of the body that recognize foreign substances, neutralize them, and recall the response later when confronted with the same challenge.
Immunity: A natural or acquired resistance to a specific disease. Immunity may be partial or complete, long lasting or temporary.
Immunocompetent: Capable of developing an immune response.
Immunocompromised: A state when the body's immune system defenses are lowered and the body is less able to resist infections and tumors.
Immunomodulator: A treatment that may help rebuild a damaged immune system.
Immunosuppressed: A state of the body in which the immune system defenses have been suppressed.
Inclusion Criteria: A list of characteristics to determine whether a person can be part of a study. The purpose is to make sure that people in the trial are similar enough so that reliable comparisons can be made among the effects of different treatments used in different groups.
Incubation Period: The interval between the initial exposure to infection and appearance of the first symptoms of disease.
Indeterminate Antibody Test: Findings that are not clearly negative or positive. Person should be retested.
Informed Consent: A person who is asked to participate in a clinical trial must understand a number of important facts about what the trial entails, the informed consent form provides a written explanation of these facts that must be read and signed before beginning the study. It is each person's right to get a satisfactory explanation to any questions or concerns about the trial before signing the consent form.
Interferon: A substance secreted by an infected cell which strengthens the defenses of nearby cells that are not yet infected. These substances are named differently according to their activity (interferon alpha, interferon gamma, etc.), and some have been manufactured into immune- modulating drugs.
Intravenous: Entering the body by way of the veins.
IRB (Institutional Review Board): A panel of doctors, experts and other concerned members of the community, including people with AIDS/HIV, which is responsible by law for protecting the rights of the people in the trial and for ensuring that the trial is ethical and is as safe as possible.
Invasive: An invasive disease is one in which organisms or cancer cells are spreading throughout the body; an invasive medical procedure is one in which a device is inserted into the body.
Investigational New Drug (IND): Name given to an experimental drug after the FDA approves an application for testing on people.
Kaposi's Sarcoma: A tumor of the blood-vessel wall or the lymphatic system: it usually appears as pink to purple, painless spots on the skin but may also occur internally in addition to or independent of cutaneous lesions. A form of skin cancer, recognized as raised non tender red or purplish spots on the skin. It may also occur internally (in the stomach, lungs, etc.) in addition to, or independent of, skin lesions.
LAS (Lymphadenopathy Syndrome): Persistent swelling of lymph nodes associated with chronic infection. Also known as GLS (generalized lymphadenopathy syndrome) or PGL (persistent generalized lymphadenopathy).
Latency: A period of time in which an organism is in the body but not producing any ill effects.
Leukocytes: All white blood cells.
Lymph Nodes: A small collection of tissue that contain T-cells and B-cells; essential to the function of the immune system.
Macrophage: A scavenger cell specializing in the ingestion and processing of large particulate matter, especially harmful bacteria. Macrophages are susceptible to infection by HIV and may serve as reservoirs for HIV.
Malabsorption Syndrome: Decreased intestinal absorption resulting in loss of appetite, muscle pain, and weight loss.
Meningitis: Infection and inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord.
Multi-agent: Treatment with more than one drug.
Mycobacterium Avium Complex (MAC): A serious opportunistic infection that causes symptoms including night sweats, high fever, cough, weight loss, general fatigue, malabsorption of food, and diarrhea.
Mycobacterium Avium Intracellulare: (MAI) An acid-fast bacillus that can cause infection of most internal organs. MAI infections are a common opportunistic infection of late-stage AIDS.
National Institutes of Health (NIH): A federal agency of the U.S. Public Health Service that includes 13 institutes. NIH supports and does biomedical and health research, trains scientists, and writes and publishes scientific and medical reports.
Negative Test Results: Test findings that show no detectable signs of HIV antibodies, yet the person may have been recently infected.
Neutopenia: Low number of a certain type of white blood cells called neutrophils that fight bacterial and fungal infections.
Nonoxynol-9: A chemical used in some contraceptive creams, foams, and jellies that kills sperm and viruses. Used with a condom, it can offer added protection from HIV.
Nucleoside Analogue: A type of anti viral drug. Examples: AZT, ddI, or ddC.
Opportunistic Infection: A general term describing any microorganism which normally does not cause disease but becomes pathogenic when the host's immune system is compromised, as in a person with HIV.
Oral Hairy Leukoplakia (OHL): A white lesion appearing on the tongue in patients with HIV; the lesion appears raised with a corrugated or "hairy" surface.
Partner Notification: The process of informing the sexual and needle-sharing partners of an HIV-infected person that they may be at risk for the infection.
Pathogen: Any disease-producing microorganism or material.
p24: A core protein of HIV; levels of p24 are sometimes used as a surrogate marker of an anti-retroviral drug's efficacy.
p24 Antigen Level: A level that can be measured in blood and other body fluids. The test used to measure p24 levels detects the presence of a core protein fragment (p24) on HIV.
Parallel Track: A proposed system of distributing experimental drugs that have completed phase 1 testing to patients who are unable to participate in ongoing clinical efficacy trials.
Pentamidine: A drug used to treat or prevent pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP).
Peripheral Neuropathy: A disorder of the nerves, usually involving the feet or hands, and sometimes the legs and arms. Symptoms may include numbness, a tingling or burning sensation, sharp pain, weakness, and abnormal reflexes. In severe cases, paralysis may result.
Persistent Generalized Lymphadenopathy (PGL): Chronic, diffused, non cancerous lymph node enlargement.
Phase I: The classification of federally funded trials that test experimental drugs to determine their safety and find the most effective dose.
Phase II: The classification of federally funded trials that test an experimental drug to see how well it works and to study its side effects. Phase II trials often involve several hundred participants who are randomly assigned to take either the drug or a control (the standard treatment for the disease or no treatment at all, known as placebo). These trials are usually double-blinded, which means no one knows who is getting the drug until the trial is over. Length is several months to 2 years.
Phase III: Involves several hundred to several thousand patients. Duration is 1-4 years to test safety, effectiveness, and dosage levels.
Placebo: A look-alike "sugar pill" that is compared with an experimental treatment in a clinical trial. Placebos can be used when there is no other proven treatment for the disease being studied or when there is no immediate danger to withholding treatment temporarily.
Placebo-Controlled: A kind of study in which the experimental treatment being tested is compared to no treatment at all.
PLWA: People living with AIDS.
Pneumocystic Carinii Pneumonia (PCP): A fungal infection of the lungs; this the most common opportunistic infection in AIDS patients.
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): A very sensitive test used in research to detect minute amounts of DNA from an organ.
Polymerase Chain Reaction Test: A test that can detect HIV by looking for the genetic information of the virus; the test can find the virus even if it is present in a very small amount or is hidden inside white blood cells.
Pre-clinical: Testing of experimental drugs in the test tube or in animals.
Principal Investigator: The head researcher charged with overseeing all aspects of a clinical trial at an institution.
Prophylaxis: A treatment given to a person to prevent them from getting a particular disease. Treatment intended to prevent the onset of an infection or disease.
Randomized Trial: A kind of trial in which participants randomly receive one of the treatments being studied or a placebo.
Recombinant: Manufactured; genetically engineered.
Resistance: Diminished effectiveness of a drug against a disease-causing organism.
Retinitis: A general term describing inflammation of the retina. CMV-induced retinitis is a common opportunistic infection in AIDS.
Retrovirus: A class of viruses which includes HIV. Retroviruses are so named because they carry their genetic information in RNA rather than DNA, and the RNA information must be translated "backwards" into DNA.
Reverse Transcriptase: An enzyme essential to the retrovirus that copies the viral RNA into DNA. AZT and other nucleoside analogues apparently inhibit the reverse transcription process.
Seroconversion: The change from an absence of HIV antibodies in the blood to the presence of those antibodies.
Seroprevalence: The incidence of disease in a given population.
Serostatus: The condition of having or not having detectable antibodies in the blood serum as a result of infection. A person may have either a positive or negative serostatus.
Shingles: A condition caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox and is characterized by inflammation of nerve endings; an opportunistic infection common to people with AIDS.
Side Effects: Unintended reactions caused by treatment. Some side effects can be dangerous.
Spectrophotometer: An instrument used to read the ELISA test for HIV antibodies; it reads the amount of color present to detect whether the blood has HIV antibodies.
Spend Down: To qualify for Medicaid by having medical bills that reduce one's income below the poverty level.
SSI: Supplemental Security Income; a welfare program under Social Security for poor people who are disabled, elderly, or blind; some benefits or temporary benefits under this program may be available to persons with AIDS.
SSDI: Social Security Disability Insurance; a form of federal insurance; payment is related to the amount of money a person has paid into the Social Security system. Because it takes so long to qualify for the payments, very few people with AIDS live long enough to receive this insurance, although the number is growing.
STD: Sexually transmitted disease.
Surrogate markers: Levels of cells or proteins that indirectly indicate HIV activity and are used to mark disease progression.
Syncytium: A non functioning clump of cells that have fused together. HIV-infected cells fuse with non-HIV infected CD4+ cells, forming syncytia and compounding the destruction of CD4+ cells.
Syndrome: A group of symptoms and diseases that together are characteristic of a specific condition.
T4 Cell: A type of T-lymphocyte. The T4 cell enhances the immune response to an infection through a complex series of interactions with other types of lymphocytes (B cells, T8 cells), macrophages, antibody-producing cells, and infectious organisms.
T4/T8 Ratios: The existence and complicated action of two types of white blood cells, one which naturally suppresses the immune system and the other which naturally mediates immune action. Together these T-cells keep the immune system in balance.
Thrush: A fungal infection of the mouth and throat caused by candida, marked by white patches in the oral cavity.
Toxicity: A range of reactions occuring when a medicine is poisonous to some part of the body.
Treatment: A drug or procedure that is intended to help cure or alleviate a disease or condition.
Treatment IND: A program to provide experimental treatment free of charge to patients who have no other available treatment options.
Vaccine: A substance that contains antigenic components from an infectious organism. By stimulating an immune response, but not disease, it protects against subsequent infection by that organism.
Wasting Syndrome: A condition characterized by involuntary weight loss of more than 10% of baseline body weight plus either chronic diarrhea or chronic weakness and fever for more than 30 days, when these conditions cannot be explained by any illness other than HIV.
Western Blot: A confirmation test for the presence of specific antibodies that is more accurate than the ELISA test for detecting true negatives.
Zidovudine: (azidothymidine, ZDV, AZT, Retrovir) A thymidine nucleoside analog that inhibits HIV replication.
