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In the first part of this article we have analyzed the evidence supporting the recency hypothesis of schizophrenia and also what we can call the intimate nature of the disease. In this part we highlight the role of certain cultural aspects that have been ignored up to now, aspects that are associated with deep changes in the Weltanschauung and systems of beliefs on human nature brought up by the late Modernism, specifically by Romanticism. The description of the main characteristics of Romanticism, starting with the “discovery of intimacy", leads to the conclusion that the characteristic alteration of subjectivity and ipseity of the disease appears to be a vulnerability factor when somebody has to face the new challenges raise Romanticism. The consideration of Hölderlin's literary achievements and the deep psychological drama prevailing in them, makes explicit how the late modern human being finds in Romanticism the source of creativity and personal development but also the threat of his or her own destruction. Finally we link our hypothesis with recent genetic perspectives that consider sets of diseases associated to the same gene or genes (diseasome). In any case the process of associating the traits of Late Modernism and Romanticism with the core features of schizophrenia allows to consider the amalgamation of insanity with society, both at a general level an in what concerns individual patients, paving the way for novel therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O presente trabalho estabelece algumas definições e o tratamento de conceitos chaves e termos relevantes para a compreensão da experiência da enfermidade. Objetiva analisar, em um nível teórico, a determinação individual e coletiva desta experiência. A análise aponta para a relação entre o universo macroscópico de significados estabelecidos pela sociedade e o mundo subjetivo dos indivíduos. O trabalho parte do pressuposto de que a experiência da enfermidade é uma realidade subjetiva tanto como intersubjetiva.This paper intends to establish some definitions and deal with key concepts and terms related to the understanding of illness as an experience. At the theoretical level, it aims to analyze the individual and collective determination of the experience of illness as the mediation between the macroscopic universe of meaning established in society and the ways in which this universe is sujectively real to individuals. This inquiry starts with the supposition that illness as an experience is both a subjetive and intersubjetive reality.

A importância dos cultos religiosos enquanto agências terapêuticas entre as classes populares urbanas tem sido amplamente reconhecida. A partir de análise da história de doença de uma jovem de bairro pobre de Salvador - que recorreu a uma série de agências religiosas desde a eclosão do seu problema - o presente trabalho busca contribuir para o entendimento das formas pelas quais as visões de mundo e projetos de cura de diferentes cultos são de fato incorporados à experiência cotidiana de doentes e seus familiares.The importance of religious cults in providing healing services for Brazil's urban poor is now widely acknowledged. This study focuses on a poor neighbourhood in Salvador and the history of the illness of a young woman who resorted to several religious therapies beginning at the time of onset of her disease. The article seeks to contribute to an understanding of the ways in which the world views and healing projects of various religions are actually incorporated into the experience of ill individuals and their family members.

The HIV epidemic in Papua New Guinea is now described as a generalized epidemic; that is, more than 1% of people aged 15 to 49 years are infected with HIV. The individual behavior of people is not the single most important factor that places them at risk of infection and drives the spread of the epidemic. Rather, a diverse range of factors—biological, sociocultural, and political—makes people vulnerable to infection and dictates their access to care and treatment services. This article examines these biological, sociocultural, and political influences on the HIV epidemic and on prevention and treatment strategies in Papua New Guinea. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing upon data from a qualitative study of persons who are in the early stage of the condition, this paper examines the meaning of Alzheimer's disease. It contrasts the meaning of the disease as portrayed in popular culture with its meaning as interpreted by persons living with it. Findings show that persons with the illness do not necessarily accept the negative cultural meaning of the disease, nor the helpless ‘victim’ role in which they are generally cast. With a determination to ‘make the best of it’, strategies such as humour, normalisation, present-time orientation, and life review are employed to create a meaningful life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnomedicine is the field that analyzes medical traditions comparatively. An ethnomedical approach is used in the essay to analyze the topic of medical ethics. General properties of medical ethics as realized in different societies are outlined. These pertain to the healer's relations with clients, with other healers, and with the group or society. The conditions of medical practice and the influence of social and political factors that affect them are discussed in relation to medical ethical questions. Unique developments of contemporary medical science that affect and condition practice and raise new ethical questions are examined in light of ethnomedical generalizations. The essay aims to clarify the cultural bases of medicine generally and ethical aspects of medical practice and care more specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]