HIV Dictionary

kaposi's sarcoma: Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor of the blood vessel walls. Although rare in people not infected with HIV, it's common in HIV-positive people. Kaposi's sarcoma usually appears as pink, red or purple lesions on the skin and mouth. In people with darker skin, the lesions may look dark brown or black. Kaposi's sarcoma can also affect the internal organs, including the digestive tract and lungs.

mycobacterium aviumcomplex (MAC): This infection is caused by a group of bacteria referred to by a single name - MAC. The bacteria normally cause an infection of the respiratory tract. But if you have advanced HIV infection and your CD4 lymphocyte count is less than 50, you're more likely to develop a systemic infection that can affect almost any internal organ, including the bone marrow, liver or spleen. MAC causes nonspecific symptoms such as fever, night sweats, weight loss, stomach pain and diarrhea.

neurological complications: Although AIDS doesn't appear to infect the nerve cells, it can still cause neurological symptoms such as confusion, forgetfulness, changes in behavior, depression, anxiety and trouble walking. One of the most common neurological complications is AIDS dementia complex, which leads to behavioral changes and diminished mental functioning. It's best treated with aggressive anti-retroviral medications.

non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs): These drugs bind directly to the enzyme reverse transcriptase.

non-hodgkin's lymphoma: This cancer originates in lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. Lymphocytes are concentrated in your bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, digestive tract and skin. Although lymphomas can start in other organs, they usually begin in your lymph nodes. The most common early sign is painless swelling of the lymph nodes in your neck, armpit or groin.

nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs): NRTIs were the first antiretroviral drugs to be developed. They inhibit the replication of an HIV enzyme called reverse transcriptase. They include zidovudine (Retrovir), lamivudine (Epivir), didanosine (Videx), zalcitabine (Hivid), stavudine (Zerit) and abacavir (Ziagen). A newer drug, emtricitabine (Emtriva), which must be used in combination with at least two other AIDS medications, treats both HIV and hepatitis B.