Kelo v. City of New London: The Sweeping Grant of Government Power and the Condemnation of American Property Rights

On June 23, 2005, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in the now infamous case of Kelo v. City of New London.\u27 In its first major ruling on eminent domain since 1984, the Court decided whether a city\u27s exercise of its eminent domain power to transfer property to private developers complied with the public use requirement of the Fifth Amendment

Once-yearly zoledronic acid and days of disability, bed rest, and back pain: Randomized, controlled HORIZON Pivotal Fracture Trial

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of once-yearly zoledronic acid on the number of days of back pain and the number of days of disability (ie, limited activity and bed rest) owing to back pain or fracture in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 240 clinical centers in 27 countries. Participants included 7736 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Patients were randomized to receive either a single 15-minute intravenous infusion of zoledronic acid (5 mg) or placebo at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months. The main outcome measures were self-reported number of days with back pain and the number of days of limited activity and bed rest owing to back pain or a fracture, and this was assessed every 3 months over a 3-year period. Our results show that although the incidence of back pain was high in both randomized groups, women randomized to zoledronic acid experienced, on average, 18 fewer days of back pain compared with placebo over the course of the trial (p = .0092). The back pain among women randomized to zoledronic acid versus placebo resulted in 11 fewer days of limited activity (p = .0017). In Cox proportional-hazards models, women randomized to zoledronic acid were about 6% less likely to experience 7 or more days of back pain [relative risk (RR) = 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90–0.99] or limited activity owing to back pain (RR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.87–1.00). Women randomized to zoledronic acid were significantly less likely to experience 7 or more bed-rest days owing to a fracture (RR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.47–0.72) and 7 or more limited-activity days owing to a fracture (RR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.58–0.78). Reductions in back pain with zoledronic acid were independent of incident fracture. Our conclusion is that in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, a once-yearly infusion with zoledronic acid over a 3-year period significantly reduced the number of days that patients reported back pain, limited activity owing to back pain, and limited activity and bed rest owing to a fracture

Effect of once-yearly zoledronic acid on the spine and hip as measured by quantitative computed tomography: results of the HORIZON Pivotal Fracture Trial.

Changes in bone mineral density and bone strength following treatment with zoledronic acid (ZOL) were measured by quantitative computed analysis (QCT) or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). ZOL treatment increased spine and hip BMD vs placebo, assessed by QCT and DXA. Changes in trabecular bone resulted in increased bone strength. INTRODUCTION: To investigate bone mineral density (BMD) changes in trabecular and cortical bone, estimated by quantitative computed analysis (QCT) or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and whether zoledronic acid 5 mg (ZOL) affects bone strength. METHODS: In 233 women from a randomized, controlled trial of once-yearly ZOL, lumbar spine, total hip, femoral neck, and trochanter were assessed by DXA and QCT (baseline, Month 36). Mean percentage changes from baseline and between-treatment differences (ZOL vs placebo, t-test) were evaluated. RESULTS: Mean between-treatment differences for lumbar spine BMD were significant by DXA (7.0%, p < 0.01) and QCT (5.7%, p < 0.0001). Between-treatment differences were significant for trabecular spine (p = 0.0017) [non-parametric test], trabecular trochanter (10.7%, p < 0.0001), total hip (10.8%, p < 0.0001), and compressive strength indices at femoral neck (8.6%, p = 0.0001), and trochanter (14.1%, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Once-yearly ZOL increased hip and spine BMD vs placebo, assessed by QCT vs DXA. Changes in trabecular bone resulted in increased indices of compressive strength