Glossary
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SALVAGE THERAPY

A treatment effort for people who are not responding to, or cannot tolerate, the preferred, recommended treatments for a particular condition. In the context of HIV infection, drug treatments that are used or studied in individuals who have failed one or more HIV drug regimens, including protease inhibitors. In this case, failed refers to the inability to achieve and sustain low viral load levels.

Sanctuary site

A place in the body that acts as a reservoir for HIV, where it escapes treatment.

SEBORRHEIC DERMATITIS

A chronic inflammatory disease of the skin of unknown cause or origin, characterised by moderate erythema; dry, moist, or greasy scaling; and yellow crusted patches on various areas, including the mid-parts of the face, ears, supraorbital regions (above the orbit of the eye), umbilicus (the navel), genitalia, and especially the scalp. Seborrheic dermatitis in patients infected with HIV responds to a variety of therapies but tends to reoccur. Topic antifungal agents and corticosteroids suppress the process, but therapy must be applied repeatedly.

Selective pressure

An environmental force (e.g. for HIV the presence of an antiviral drug) that allows a strain with a certain gene (e.g. a resistance mutation) to survive and multiply at the expense of other strains.

Sensitivity

The susceptibility of an organism (e.g. HIV) to inactivation or death by a drug.

SEROCONVERSION

The development of antibodies to a particular antigen. When people develop antibodies to HIV, they "seroconvert" from antibody-negative to antibody-positive. It may take from as little as one week to several months or more after infection with HIV for antibodies to the virus to develop. After antibodies to HIV appear in the blood, a person should test positive on antibody tests.

SEROPREVALENCE

As related to HIV infection, the proportion of persons who have serologic (i.e. pertaining to serum) evidence of HIV infection at any given time.

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE (STD)

Also called venereal disease (an older public health term) or sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Sexually transmitted diseases are infections spread by the transfer of organisms from person to person during sexual contact. The complexity and scope of STDs have increased dramatically since the 1980s; more than 20 organisms and syndromes are now recognised as belonging in this category.

SF-2

A strain of HIV used in vaccine development.

SGOT

(Serum Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase.) Also known as AST (aspartate aminotransaminase), a liver enzyme that plays a role in protein metabolism, such as SGPT. Elevated serum levels of SGOT are a sign of liver damage from disease or drugs.

SGPT

(Serum Glutamic Pyruvate Transaminase.) Also known as ALT (alanine aminotransaminase), a liver enzyme that plays a role in protein metabolism like SGOT. Elevated serum levels of SGPT are a sign of liver damage from disease or drugs.

SIMIAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (SIV)

An HIV-like virus that infects monkeys, chimpanzees, and other non-human primates.

STANDARDS OF CARE

Treatment regimen or medical management based on state-of-the-art patient care.

STEVENS-JOHNSON SYNDROME

A severe and sometimes fatal form of erythema multiforme that is characterised by severe skin manifestations; conjunctivitis (eye inflammation), which often results in blindness; Vincent's angina (trench mouth); and ulceration of the genitals and anus.

STOMATITIS

Any of numerous inflammatory diseases of the mouth having various causes, such as mechanical trauma, irritants, allergy, vitamin deficiency, or infection.

Strain

A variety of organism defined by the genes it contains. A population of an organism may consist of several different strains.

Subtype (clade)

A phylogenetically distinct strain of a microorganism. There are at least 11 subtypes of HIV-1 classified into 2 groups: group M (containing subtypes A through J) and group O. Subtype B is predominant in the U.S. There are 5 known subtypes of HIV-2 (A-E).

SYNCYTIA

("Giant Cells.") Dysfunctional multicellular clumps formed by cell-to-cell fusion. Cells infected with HIV may also fuse with nearby uninfected cells, forming balloon-like giant cells, called syncytia. In test tube experiments, these giant cells have been associated with the death of uninfected cells. The presence of so-called syncytia-inducing variants of HIV has been correlated with rapid disease progression in HIV-infected individuals.