Implants versus short-span fixed bridges: survival, complications, patients' benefits. A systematic review on economic aspects

To systematically evaluate the existing evidence to answer the focused question: For a patient with a single tooth to be replaced, is the implant crown, based on economic considerations, preferred to a conventional fixed partial denture?

Sialic acid binding immunoglobulin-like lectins may regulate innate immune responses by modulating the life span of granulocytes

The regulation of cell death is a key element in building up and maintaining both innate and adaptive immunity. A critical role in this process plays the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)/nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor family of death receptors. Recent work suggests that sialic acid binding immunoglobulin (Ig) -like lectins (Siglecs) are also empowered to transmit death signals, at least into myeloid cells. Strikingly, death induction by Siglecs is enhanced when cells are exposed to proinflammatory survival cytokines. Based on these recent insights, we hypothesize that at least some members of the Siglec family regulate immune responses via the activation of caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death pathways.

Mice generated by in vitro fertilization exhibit vascular dysfunction and shortened life span

Children conceived by assisted reproductive technologies (ART) display a level of vascular dysfunction similar to that seen in children of mothers with preeclamspia. The long-term consequences of ART-associated vascular disorders are unknown and difficult to investigate in healthy children. Here, we found that vasculature from mice generated by ART display endothelial dysfunction and increased stiffness, which translated into arterial hypertension in vivo. Progeny of male ART mice also exhibited vascular dysfunction, suggesting underlying epigenetic modifications. ART mice had altered methylation at the promoter of the gene encoding eNOS in the aorta, which correlated with decreased vascular eNOS expression and NO synthesis. Administration of a deacetylase inhibitor to ART mice normalized vascular gene methylation and function and resulted in progeny without vascular dysfunction. The induction of ART-associated vascular and epigenetic alterations appeared to be related to the embryo environment; these alterations were possibly facilitated by the hormonally stimulated ovulation accompanying ART. Finally, ART mice challenged with a high-fat diet had roughly a 25% shorter life span compared with control animals. This study highlights the potential of ART to induce vascular dysfunction and shorten life span and suggests that epigenetic alterations contribute to these problems.

The adaptive power of the present: Perceptions of past, present, and future life satisfaction across the life span

Despite remarkable stability of life satisfaction across the life span, it may be adaptive to perceive change in life satisfaction. We shed new light on this topic with data from 766 individuals from three age groups and past, present, and future life satisfaction perceptions across the life span. On average, participants were most satisfied with their current life. When looking back, satisfaction increased from past to present, and when looking ahead, satisfaction decreased into the future. Trajectories were best fitted with a curvilinear growth model. Neuroticism and extraversion predicted the level of trajectories, but none of the Big Five predicted the slope. We conclude that humans have an adaptive capacity to perceive the present life as being the best possible.

Self-esteem development across the life span: A longitudinal study with a large sample from Germany

The authors examined the development of self-esteem across the life span. Data came from a German longitudinal study with 3 assessments across 4 years of a sample of 2,509 individuals ages 14 to 89 years. The self-esteem measure used showed strong measurement invariance across assessments and birth cohorts. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that self-esteem follows a quadratic trajectory across the life span, increasing during adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood, reaching a peak at age 60 years, and then declining in old age. No cohort effects on average levels of self-esteem or on the shape of the trajectory were found. Moreover, the trajectory did not differ across gender, level of education, or for individuals who had lived continuously in West versus East Germany (i.e., the 2 parts of Germany that had been separate states from 1949 to 1990). However, the results suggested that employment status, household income, and satisfaction in the domains of work, relationships, and health contribute to a more positive life span trajectory of self-esteem. The findings have significant implications, because they call attention to developmental stages in which individuals may be vulnerable because of low self-esteem (such as adolescence and old age) and to factors that predict successful versus problematic developmental trajectories.

Life-span development of self-esteem and its effects on important life outcomes

We examined the life-span development of self-esteem and tested whether self-esteem influences the development of important life outcomes, including relationship satisfaction, job satisfaction, occupational status, salary, positive and negative affect, depression, and physical health. Data came from the Longitudinal Study of Generations. Analyses were based on 5 assessments across a 12-year period of a sample of 1,824 individuals ages 16 to 97 years. First, growth curve analyses indicated that self-esteem increases from adolescence to middle adulthood, reaches a peak at about age 50 years, and then decreases in old age. Second, cross-lagged regression analyses indicated that self-esteem is best modeled as a cause rather than a consequence of life outcomes. Third, growth curve analyses, with self-esteem as a time-varying covariate, suggested that self-esteem has medium-sized effects on life-span trajectories of affect and depression, small to medium-sized effects on trajectories of relationship and job satisfaction, a very small effect on the trajectory of health, and no effect on the trajectory of occupational status. These findings replicated across 4 generations of participants— children, parents, grandparents, and their great-grandparents. Together, the results suggest that self-esteem has a significant prospective impact on real-world life experiences and that high and low self-esteem are not mere epiphenomena of success and failure in important life domains.

Age differences in instability, contingency, and level of self-esteem across the life span

We investigated age differences in instability, contingency, and level of self-esteem from age 13 to 72 years, using data from 1386 individuals who participated in a diary study over 25 days. Instability and contingency of self-esteem decreased from adolescence to old age, whereas level of self-esteem increased. Big Five personality traits predicted the level, but not the slope, of the trajectories of self-esteem characteristics. Age differences in self-esteem characteristics did not merely reflect age differences in instability and level of positive and negative affect. Finally, self-esteem characteristics showed a stable pattern of interrelations across the life span. Overall, the findings suggest that people’s self-esteem tends to become better adjusted—i.e., more stable, less contingent, and higher—across the life course.

Tracking the trajectory of shame, guilt, and pride across the life span

The authors examined age differences in shame, guilt, and 2 forms of pride (authentic and hubristic) from age 13 years to age 89 years, using cross-sectional data from 2,611 individuals. Shame decreased from adolescence into middle adulthood, reaching a nadir around age 50 years, and then increased in old age. Guilt increased from adolescence into old age, reaching a plateau at about age 70 years. Authentic pride increased from adolescence into old age, whereas hubristic pride decreased from adolescence into middle adulthood, reaching a minimum around age 65 years, and then increased in old age. On average, women reported experiencing more shame and guilt; Blacks reported experiencing less shame and Asians more hubristic pride than other ethnicities. Across the life span, shame and hubristic pride tended to be negatively related to psychological well-being, and shame-free guilt and authentic pride showed positive relations with well-being. Overall, the findings support the maturity principle of personality development and suggest that as people age they become more prone to experiencing psychologically adaptive self-conscious emotions, such as guilt and authentic pride, and less prone to experiencing psychologically maladaptive ones, such as shame and hubristic pride.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) affects glucose metabolism and enhances fitness and life span in Drosophila melanogaster

In this study, we tested whether a standardized epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) rich green tea extract (comprising > 90% EGCG) affects fitness and lifespan as well as parameters of glucose metabolism and energy homeostasis in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Following the application of the green tea extract a significant increase in the mean lifespan (+ 3.3 days) and the 50% survival (+ 4.3 days) as well as improved fitness was detected. These effects went along an increased expression of Spargel, the homolog of mammalian PGC1α, which has been reported to affect lifespan in flies. Intriguingly, in flies, treatment with the green tea extract decreased glucose concentrations, which were accompanied by an inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity. Computational docking analysis proved the potential of EGCG to dock into the substrate binding pocket of α-amylase and to a greater extent into α-glucosidase. Furthermore, we demonstrate that EGCG downregulates insulin-like peptide 5 and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, major regulators of glucose metabolism, as well as the Drosophila homolog of leptin, unpaired 2. We propose that a decrease in glucose metabolism in connection with an upregulated expression of Spargel contribute to the better fitness and the extended lifespan in EGCG-treated flies.