Kroniska sjukdomar ökar världen över, i både utvecklings- och industrialiserade länder. Mäniskor som lider av kroniska sjukdomar finner ofta den västerländska medicinen oförmögen att behandla deras sjukdommar, och vänder sig istället till traditionell, komplementär och alternativ medicin [TM/CAM]. TM/CAM har visat sig vara effektiv vid prevention och behandling av kroniska sjukdomar, varför det är av stort intresse att undersöka möjligheten för ökad integration av TM/CAM inom de nationella sjukvårdssystemen. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka de krafter som främjar respektive förhindrar kommunikation och samarbete mellan utövare av ayurveda, västerländsk och traditionell medicin, samt att se hur detta påverkar integrationen av de medicinska subsystemen på Sri Lanka. Fokus för studien är ett specifikt samarbetsprojekt, “The outcome oriented, evidence informed community health promotion program”, vars mål är att integrera ayurveda och västerländsk medicin inom primärvården. En kvalitativ studie genomfördes under tre månader på Sri Lanka med hjälp av semi-strukturerade intervjuer, deltagande observation samt analys av dokument. Paul Unschulds teori om strukturerad konkurrens, samarbete eller integration användes vid tolkningen av resultaten. Resultaten tyder på att den huvudsakliga formen för samexistens mellan ayurveda och västerländsk medicin på Sri Lanka är strukturerad konkurrens, medan samarbetsprojektet siktar mot att uppnå strukturerat samarbete. Det parallella politiska system som styr samexistenseen mellan ayurveda och västerländsk medicin tycks förhindra integration, medan en ökad professionalisering genom nationella regleringar skapar ökat samarbete och integration. Brist på kunskap om ayurveda bland medicinstudenter förhindrar samarbete. Samtidigt kan inflytandet från västerländsk medicin i den auyurvediska universitetsutbildningen till synes både främja och förhindra samarbete och integration. Genom att höja kompetensen omkring forskningsmetodik och hälsovårdsystem hos ayurvediska läkare kan samarbete främjas. Likaså är forskning utformad med hänsyn till ayurvediska grundprinciper samt närvaro av nyckelpersoner med kompetens inom både ayurveda och västerländsk medicin främjande faktorer för samarbete och integration. / Non-communicable diseases [NCDs] are increasing in both developing and developed countries. Western medicine is not able to offer satisfying solutions and treatments for people suffering from NCDs. TM/CAM have shown promise of effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of NCDs and many people now turn to TM/CAM. Hence it is of great interest to investigate the possibilities of increased integration of TM/CAM in national health care systems. This study was carried out in Sri Lanka, with the aim to investigate the main forces promoting and obstructing cooperation and communication between practitioners of Ayurvedic, Western and traditional medicine, in order to see how this affects integration of the medical subsystems. The focus of this qualitative study was the “Outcome oriented, evidence informed Ayurvedic Community Health Promotion Program”; a collaboration project aiming to integrate Ayurveda and Western medicine in primary health care. Semi-structured interviews, participatory observation and document analysis were carried out during three months in Sri Lanka and the results were analysed using Paul Unschuld’s theory on structured competition, cooperation or integration. The results indicate that the overall coexistence of Ayurveda and Western medicine in Sri Lanka is structured competition, while the collaboration project is aiming for structured cooperation. The results further show that the Sri Lankan parallel political approach to integration can be argued to obstruct integration, while the regulation of Ayurvedic practitioners increases cooperation through professionalization. Education is a main influencing factor for cooperation; lack of CAM-knowledge in medical students obstructs cooperation while westernization of Ayurvedic doctors both promotes and obstructs cooperation and integration. Capacity building, research based on Ayurvedic fundamentals and keypersons with knowledge of both sectors are of importance for increased cooperation and integration to come about.

No description available.

With the advent of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), people with the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection are increasingly enjoying longer and relatively healthy lives, particularly in developed countries. However, black Africans and African-Caribbean people in the United Kingdom and other developed countries are not yet enjoying the full benefits of HAART, essentially as a result of delayed diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis, in addition to affecting the health of infected individuals, also creates a community reservoir for the spread of the infection; thereby hampering prevention and control strategies by international and NHS guidelines. The delayed diagnosis may be grounded in individual, societal and health service factors that guide help-seeking behaviours of black African and African-Caribbean populations. This study set out to investigate the help-seeking behaviours to diagnose HIV and AIDS among UK based black African and African-Caribbean people, and to investigate the dynamics in those behaviours by place of origin (Africa vs. Caribbean) and by gender. A qualitative methodological approach involving semi-structured interviews was used to explore help-seeking behaviours to diagnose HIV and AIDS among black Africans and African-Caribbean populations in the UK and compared by gender. Thirty (30) purposively selected individuals from patients attending two sexual health clinics in the city of London were interviewed. These included 16 black Africans and 14 African-Caribbean people, and 16 men and 14 women. The symbolic interactionist perspective, and the concepts of broken narratives/silences, biographical disruption and biographical abruption guided the study and interpretation of findings. One main theme ‘Africanness’ and two sub-themes (“African way” and “African thing”) emerged from the findings. The “African way” embodies the risk factors involved in contracting or transmitting HIV and the “African thing” represents the HIV status itself. This is a cultural construction of HIV and AIDS within the acceptable context of participants which helped them to talk about HIV and AIDS without addressing it by the biomedical idiom. The notion of ‘Africanness’ provided a ‘marker’ for African identity. The “African thing” represented a new landscape for naming HIV without necessarily calling it by name and provided a comfortable platform for participants to seek help. The “African way” described the risk behaviours by participants that resulted in the “African thing”. Three sociological concepts; ‘broken narratives or silences, biographical disruption and biographical abruption were key issues in HIV and AIDS diagnosis at a late stage and have formed the basis for the development of a model of help-seeking for diagnosis by participants. Apparently, the main determinants of help-seeking for diagnosis of HIV and AIDS are dependent on cultural factors. Stigma is reinforced by the national health care system practices as well as health professionals themselves. This potentially increases the reluctance among black African and African-Caribbean populations to voluntarily test for HIV. An HIV diagnosis is seemingly a challenging experience because of the impending uncertainties associated with it. Seeking help for diagnosis may even be more difficult because of the anticipated and unpleasant experiences along the path to diagnosis. This may guide the individual to consider other alternatives outside the biomedical pathway, potentially; the biomedical path becomes the least likely choice, especially with black African and African-Caribbean populations. An insufficient cultural understanding is likely to result in inadequate recognition of alternative medical practices, insufficient attention to alternatives to biomedical health systems and potential distortion of the meaning of health messages linking them to practice.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrated Health, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has highlighted a need for research to better understand the usage of complementary and alternative medicine practices. The purpose of this study was to investigate the flow of complementary and alternative medicine information among yoga practitioners. The study consisted of 51 yoga practitioners from 7 yoga studio locations. This mixed-methods study used interviews, surveys, and field notes to collect data. Content and social network analyses provided supporting evidence for Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory and Granovetter's strength of weak ties theory. Key findings included a preference for face-to-face communications, students having both strong and weak relationship ties to directors and instructors, and yoga being the top recommended practice. The study suggested that yoga practitioners related to complementary and alternative medicine information through the lens of their friends and relatives, sought information from trusted sources, and used this information to determine which practices were right for them to pursue.

O trabalho em saúde é uma prática social que sofre alterações do contexto e se conforma nos encontros entre usuário e trabalhador, e nesses encontros necessidades de saúde emergem, o que demanda a inserção de novos saberes e tecnologias. A fitoterapia é uma tecnologia que tem sido inserida nos serviços de saúde e constitui uma ferramenta para o trabalho, mesmo não fazendo parte das tecnologias do modelo biomédico. O objetivo do trabalho foi analisar os fatores envolvidos na implementação da política de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos na rede de saúde que a fazem entrar ou não na rotina de trabalho dos profissionais da saúde. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo que se deu em duas fases, análise documental e estudo de caso. Os materiais analisados na primeira fase foram: os planos de saúde e relatórios anuais de gestão, leis, portarias, e um trabalho de conclusão de curso, referentes aos municípios de Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro e Vitória. O estudo de caso foi realizado em Vitória, de janeiro a fevereiro de 2016, foram realizadas entrevistas em duas USFs com trabalhadores de ESF e usuários, além dos dois responsáveis técnicos do programa de fitoterapia do município, totalizando 41 participantes. O material obtido no estudo de caso foi submetido à análise de conteúdo na modalidade temática e discutido à luz do referencial conceitual, do trabalho em saúde como produção social. Os fatores que favorecem a implementação da fitoterapia segundo os dados encontrados foram: 1) Contexto favorável; 2) Ter governabilidade; 3) A perspectiva ampliada de saúde e do serviço; a percepção sobre o papel no trabalho e a percepção dos hábitos de cuidado da comunidade; 4) Ter conhecimento científico acerca do tema; ter conhecimento sobre o programa e a cultura/conhecimento familiar de utilização de plantas medicinais; 5) Identificar benefícios da fitoterapia e 6) Estrutura e insumos que viabilizem o programa. Os contextos internacional, nacional e municipal favoreceram a atuação de líderes/empreendedores na inserção da fitoterapia na saúde, e o encontro com gestores sensibilizados viabilizaram os programas. No campo da assistência, a fitoterapia consegue espaço no trabalho dos profissionais que têm percepção ampliada de saúde e que compreendem seu papel, e o da unidade no processo saúde-doença. A responsabilização pelo usuário e comunidade mobiliza o trabalhador a buscar ferramentas que respondam às suas necessidades de saúde, e é nesse contexto que a fitoterapia é acolhida como ferramenta de trabalho. O conhecimento sobre as ferramentas de saúde oferecidas pelo município, como a fitoterapia, e o conhecimento sobre a prática favorecem sua inclusão na rotina de trabalho. O interesse pela prática é influenciado por experiências de uso e emprego bem-sucedidos da prática. A fitoterapia não é uma ferramenta de trabalho típica do modelo biomédico, mesmo assim tem conseguido alcançar esse espaço de forma institucionalizada, tanto servindo à lógica daquele modelo ou sendo usada como um instrumento para o cuidado integral. A busca por ferramentas holísticas de cuidado em última instância são para contribuir na superação da lógica biomédica / The health work is a social practice subject to changes depending on the context, and is formed in the encounter between user and workers. In such encounters, health needs emerge, which requires the insertion of new technologies. The use of herbal medicines (phytotherapy) is a technology that has been inserted in health services and constitutes a tool for health work, even though it is not part of the set of health technologies of the biomedical model. The aim of this study was to analyze the factors involving the implementation of the policy related to the use of medicinal plants and herbal medicines in the health system, the factors that integrate or not its use in health professionals\' work project. It is a qualitative study that took place in two phases: documentary analysis and case study. The analyzed materials were health plans and annual management reports, laws, resolutions referring to the Brazilian municipalities of Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro and Vitória. The case study was carried out in the city of Vitória, from January to February 2016, and data were obtained through interviews conducted in two Family Health with workers from the Family Health Team and users attended at the unit. There were also two technicians responsible for the phytotherapy program in the municipality, totaling 41 participants. The material obtained in the case study was submitted to content analysis in the thematic modality and was discussed based on the conceptual framework of health work as social production. The factors favoring the implementation of herbal medicines in the health care were: 1) Favorable Context; 2) Having Governability; 3) The broader perspective of health and service; the perception about the role in work and the perception of the community care habits; 4) Having scientific knowledge about the subject; knowledge about the program and also the culture/family knowledge of the use of medicinal plants; 5) Identification of the benefits of herbal medicines and 6) Presence of structure and inputs that make the program possible.The international, national and municipal contexts favored the performance of leaders/entrepreneurs in the insertion of herbal medicines in the health care network, and the encounter with sensitized managers made possible the establishment of the programs. In the field of assistance, herbal medicines have conquered space in the work projects of professionals who have expanded perception of health and who understand the health service role and their own role. Knowledge about the health tools offered by the municipality, such as herbal medicine, along with the knowledge about its practice favors its inclusion in the work routine. Interest on the practice is influenced by experiences of use and successful practices. Phytotherapy is not a working tool from the biomedical model in health care, yet it has managed to achieve this space in an institutionalized way, either serving the logic of that model or being used as an instrument for the offer of comprehensive care

Objective: To explore differences between conventional medicine (COM) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) regarding the attitude toward and the perceived use of shared decisionmaking (SDM) from the health professional perspective. Methods: Thirty guideline-based interviews with German GPs and nonmedical practitioners were conducted using qualitative analysis for interpretation. Results: The health professional–patient-relationship in CAM differs from that in COM, as SDM is perceived more often. Reasons for this include external context variables (e.g. longer consultation time) and internal provider beliefs (e.g. attitude toward SDM). German health care policy was regarded as one of the most critical factors which affected the relationship between GPs and their patients and their practice of SDM. Conclusion: Differences between COM and CAM regarding the attitude toward and the perceived use of SDM are attributable to diverse concepts of medicine, practice context variables and internal provider factors. Therefore, the perceived feasibility of SDM depends on the complexity of different occupational socialization processes and thus, different value systems between COM and CAM. Practice implications: Implementation barriers such as insufficient communication skills, lacking SDM training or obedient patients should be reduced. Especially in COM, contextual variables such as political restrictions need to be eliminated to successfully implement SDM.

Various forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are increasingly being used in the United States and globally over time. Among CAM, natural products, including herbal medicines, are the most used type. However, the increase in the use of CAM has gone on with minimal or without a corresponding increase in the rate of disclosure of use to the health care providers. The theories of care-seeking behavior and the behavioral model of health services use guided most of the study. Data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed to determine the health factors that affect the nondisclosure of herbal medicine usage by respondents (N = 423) who used herbs as their first choice of CAM therapy. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a binary logistic model. About one quarter of herb users did not disclose their use of herbs to the health care provider. Nondisclosures were likely to be associated with herb users who also used homeopathy and those who used herbs to treat diseases that are usually short-term. The nondisclosure rate of the use of CAM, including herbal therapy, remains a recurring concern. As part of the practical implications, the study creates and supports the awareness of health factors associated with CAM and herbal medicine use nondisclosure issues that inform health professionals about mitigating the problem and improving health practice and medical consultations.

Le cancer du foie est la deuxième cause de mortalité due au cancer dans le monde, avec près de 83% des cas et 84% des décès ayant lieu dans les pays en voie de développement. Le type histologique de cancer du foie le plus fréquemment répandu est le carcinome hépatocellulaire (HCC). Selon la littérature disponible, le HCC affecte électivement des sujets masculins de plus de 50 ans ayant développé préalablement une cirrhose hépatique. Nos objectifs étaient donc i) de confirmer au niveau moléculaire la singularité du HCC chez les patients péruviens, ii) d'évaluer les stratégies d'intervention chirurgicale dans le contexte clinique iii) d'étudier les pratiques de médecine traditionnelle, complémentaire et alternative (TCAM) chez les patients iv) d'étendre cette étude à d'autres pays en développement afin d'obtenir une vision plus globale de la problématique liée au cancer du foie. Nous avons montré que le HCC péruvien présentait un spectre de mutations unique. De plus, nous avons démontré que les arbres décisionnels thérapeutiques développés jusqu'alors ne sont pas adaptés au contexte clinique rencontré au Pérou, et qu'ils sont susceptibles d'être réévalués afin d'augmenter la proportion de patients pouvant être candidats à une intervention chirurgicale. Nous avons caractérisé le fait que la majorité des patients avec un HCC a recours à la phytothérapie de manière complémentaire et alternative. Enfin, nous avons réalisé une étude d'épidémiologie clinique préliminaire sur le cancer du foie au Cambodge. Nous avons décrit une situation clinique distincte de celle rencontrée au Pérou, mais qui nécessite également des recherches scientifiques et cliniques plus approfondies. / Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in the world. About 83% of liver cancer cases occur in the developing world. The preeminent histotype of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). According to the relevant literature, HCC is defined by patient profile corresponding grossly to cirrhotic males over 50 years old. The aims of the present work were thus to i) confirm at the molecular level the pecularity of Peruvian HCC; ii) evaluate the surgical intervention strategies for HCC in the clinical context encountered in Peru; iii) study the practices of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine ( TCAM) among patients; iv) widen the study to other low- and middle income countries in order to provide deeper insights on liver cancer. We found that Peruvian HCC displayed a unique mutation spectrum. Furthermore, we demonstrated that current therapeutic algorithms for liver cancer are not suited to the clinical context found in Peru. These therapeutic algorithms should be reevaluated in order to increase the number of patients who could be eligible for surgical intervention. Moreover, we characterized the fact that the majority of Peruvian HCC patients rely on phytotherapy in a complementary and alternative way. Finally, we undertook a preliminary clinical, epidemiological study on liver cancer in Cambodia. We delineated a clinical context distinct from the one described in Peru that also requires further clinical and scientific investigation.

O trabalho em saúde é uma prática social que sofre alterações do contexto e se conforma nos encontros entre usuário e trabalhador, e nesses encontros necessidades de saúde emergem, o que demanda a inserção de novos saberes e tecnologias. A fitoterapia é uma tecnologia que tem sido inserida nos serviços de saúde e constitui uma ferramenta para o trabalho, mesmo não fazendo parte das tecnologias do modelo biomédico. O objetivo do trabalho foi analisar os fatores envolvidos na implementação da política de plantas medicinais e fitoterápicos na rede de saúde que a fazem entrar ou não na rotina de trabalho dos profissionais da saúde. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo que se deu em duas fases, análise documental e estudo de caso. Os materiais analisados na primeira fase foram: os planos de saúde e relatórios anuais de gestão, leis, portarias, e um trabalho de conclusão de curso, referentes aos municípios de Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro e Vitória. O estudo de caso foi realizado em Vitória, de janeiro a fevereiro de 2016, foram realizadas entrevistas em duas USFs com trabalhadores de ESF e usuários, além dos dois responsáveis técnicos do programa de fitoterapia do município, totalizando 41 participantes. O material obtido no estudo de caso foi submetido à análise de conteúdo na modalidade temática e discutido à luz do referencial conceitual, do trabalho em saúde como produção social. Os fatores que favorecem a implementação da fitoterapia segundo os dados encontrados foram: 1) Contexto favorável; 2) Ter governabilidade; 3) A perspectiva ampliada de saúde e do serviço; a percepção sobre o papel no trabalho e a percepção dos hábitos de cuidado da comunidade; 4) Ter conhecimento científico acerca do tema; ter conhecimento sobre o programa e a cultura/conhecimento familiar de utilização de plantas medicinais; 5) Identificar benefícios da fitoterapia e 6) Estrutura e insumos que viabilizem o programa. Os contextos internacional, nacional e municipal favoreceram a atuação de líderes/empreendedores na inserção da fitoterapia na saúde, e o encontro com gestores sensibilizados viabilizaram os programas. No campo da assistência, a fitoterapia consegue espaço no trabalho dos profissionais que têm percepção ampliada de saúde e que compreendem seu papel, e o da unidade no processo saúde-doença. A responsabilização pelo usuário e comunidade mobiliza o trabalhador a buscar ferramentas que respondam às suas necessidades de saúde, e é nesse contexto que a fitoterapia é acolhida como ferramenta de trabalho. O conhecimento sobre as ferramentas de saúde oferecidas pelo município, como a fitoterapia, e o conhecimento sobre a prática favorecem sua inclusão na rotina de trabalho. O interesse pela prática é influenciado por experiências de uso e emprego bem-sucedidos da prática. A fitoterapia não é uma ferramenta de trabalho típica do modelo biomédico, mesmo assim tem conseguido alcançar esse espaço de forma institucionalizada, tanto servindo à lógica daquele modelo ou sendo usada como um instrumento para o cuidado integral. A busca por ferramentas holísticas de cuidado em última instância são para contribuir na superação da lógica biomédica / The health work is a social practice subject to changes depending on the context, and is formed in the encounter between user and workers. In such encounters, health needs emerge, which requires the insertion of new technologies. The use of herbal medicines (phytotherapy) is a technology that has been inserted in health services and constitutes a tool for health work, even though it is not part of the set of health technologies of the biomedical model. The aim of this study was to analyze the factors involving the implementation of the policy related to the use of medicinal plants and herbal medicines in the health system, the factors that integrate or not its use in health professionals\' work project. It is a qualitative study that took place in two phases: documentary analysis and case study. The analyzed materials were health plans and annual management reports, laws, resolutions referring to the Brazilian municipalities of Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro and Vitória. The case study was carried out in the city of Vitória, from January to February 2016, and data were obtained through interviews conducted in two Family Health with workers from the Family Health Team and users attended at the unit. There were also two technicians responsible for the phytotherapy program in the municipality, totaling 41 participants. The material obtained in the case study was submitted to content analysis in the thematic modality and was discussed based on the conceptual framework of health work as social production. The factors favoring the implementation of herbal medicines in the health care were: 1) Favorable Context; 2) Having Governability; 3) The broader perspective of health and service; the perception about the role in work and the perception of the community care habits; 4) Having scientific knowledge about the subject; knowledge about the program and also the culture/family knowledge of the use of medicinal plants; 5) Identification of the benefits of herbal medicines and 6) Presence of structure and inputs that make the program possible.The international, national and municipal contexts favored the performance of leaders/entrepreneurs in the insertion of herbal medicines in the health care network, and the encounter with sensitized managers made possible the establishment of the programs. In the field of assistance, herbal medicines have conquered space in the work projects of professionals who have expanded perception of health and who understand the health service role and their own role. Knowledge about the health tools offered by the municipality, such as herbal medicine, along with the knowledge about its practice favors its inclusion in the work routine. Interest on the practice is influenced by experiences of use and successful practices. Phytotherapy is not a working tool from the biomedical model in health care, yet it has managed to achieve this space in an institutionalized way, either serving the logic of that model or being used as an instrument for the offer of comprehensive care

Les préparations de Viscum album (VA), connu sous le nom vernaculaire de gui européen, sont fréquemment utilisées en support des traitements anticancéreux, principalement pour améliorer la qualité de vie des malades et réduire la croissance des tumeurs. Elles sont connues pour exercer des effets anti-tumoraux. Il existe de plus en plus de données scientifiques faisant état de liens étroits entre cancer et inflammation. Étant donné que la prostaglandine E2 (PGE2) induite par la cyclo-oxygénase 2 (COX-2) joue un rôle clef dans l’inflammation, j’ai exploré la régulation du système COX-2-PGE2 par VA et ses mécanismes sous-jacents. J’ai montré que VA exerce ses effets anti-inflammatoires en inhibant sélectivement l’expression de COX-2 et en diminuant la production de PGE2 qui en découle, par le biais d’une déstabilisation de l’ARNm de COX-2. En plus de leurs propriétés cytotoxiques, il a été montré que les préparations de VA ont également des effets immunostimulants. Les différentes préparations de VA sont hautement hétérogènes du fait de leurs compositions biochimiques qui varient selon la récolte, l’espèce de l’arbre hôte et les méthodes de préparation qui peuvent influer sur leur efficacité clinique. De ce fait, j’ai réalisé une étude comparative sur cinq préparations de VA dans le but d’analyser leurs capacités de maturation et d’activation des cellules dendritiques (DC) qui peuvent à leur tour présenter une réponse immunitaire anti-tumorale. Les résultats ont montré que parmi les cinq préparations,VA Qu Spez induit de manière significative l’activation des DC et la sécrétion de cytokines pro-inflammatoires telle que l’IL-6, l’IL-8 et le TNF-α qui induisent la production d’IFN-γ,orientant de ce fait la réponse immunitaire vers une réponse Th1. L’orchestration de la11fonction des cellules myélomonocytiques est un élément central à l’interface entre inflammation et cancer. Il constitue un paradigme expliquant la plasticité et la fonction des macrophages. Mon étude met en évidence l’influence de VA Qu Spez sur la polarisation des macrophages qui passent d’un état alternatif (M2) à un état dit classique (ou M1). Les macrophages M2 sont connus pour polariser les réponses immunitaires Th2, pour participer à l’élimination des parasites, pour diminuer l’inflammation, pour promouvoir le remodelage tissulaire et la progression des tumeurs et pour avoir des fonctions immunorégulatrices. Les macrophages M1 sont impliqués dans la réponse Th1, favorisent la résistance aux pathogènes intracellulaires et aux tumeurs et promeuvent des réactions de désagrégation tissulaires. L’ensemble de ces résultats permet de comprendre les propriétés anti-inflammatoires et immunostimulantes des préparations de VA. Des recherches complémentaires permettront d’améliorer les stratégies d’utilisation thérapeutique de VA et son utilisation dans les soins de support aux traitements anticancéreux. / Viscum album (VA) preparations, commonly known as European mistletoe, are frequentlyused as complementary therapy in cancer, mainly to improve quality of life of the patients andto reduce the tumor growth. They are known to exert anti-tumoral effects. There is increasing evidence of the convoluted connection of cancer and inflammation. As cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2)-induced prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) plays a key role in the inflammation, I explored the regulation of COX-2-PGE2 axis by VA and underlying mechanisms. I found that VA exerts anti-inflammatory effects by selectively inhibiting COX-2 expression and ensuing PGE2 production. Inhibition of COX-2 expression implicates COX-2 mRNA destabilisation. In addition to their cytotoxic properties, they have also been shown to have immunostimulatory properties. Each VA preparations are highly heterogeneous because oftheir chemical composition which varies depending on the time of harvest, species of host treeand manufacturing methods, together which might influence clinical efficacy of VA.Therefore I performed a comparative study involving five different preparations of VA concerning maturation and activation of dendritic cells (DCs) which in turn may manifestanti-tumoral immune response. Results showed that among all five preparations, VA Qu Spez significantly induces DC activation, secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, Il-8 and TNF-α, enhancing IFN-γ production hence promoting Th1 immune response. The orchestration of myelomonocytic cell function is a key element that links inflammation and cancer and provides a paradigm for macrophage plasticity and function. My study reveals the effect of VA Qu Spez in switching the M2 macrophages which are known to participate inpolarizing Th2 responses, help with parasite clearance, dampen inflammation, promote tissue remodelling and tumor progression and have immunoregulatory functions, towards classicallyactivated M1 macrophages which are part of a polarized Th1 response and mediate resistance13to intracellular pathogens and tumors and elicit tissue-disruptive reactions. These results together should assist in understanding the anti-inflammatory and immunostimulatory properties of VA preparations and further research is warranted to improve the therapeutic strategies of use of VA and their role as complimentary therapy in cancer.