Very Infrequent Dosing of Zoledronate for Women in Early Postmenopause

Zoledronate is administered intravenously every 12 to 18 months to prevent fractures in people with osteopenia and osteoporosis. Studies have shown that effects on bone–mineral density (BMD) and markers of bone turnover persist for longer than 5 years after administration (J Bone Miner Res 2022; 37:3).

In this study, researchers asked whether infrequent dosing of zoledronate could prevent fractures in early postmenopausal women who did not have BMD-defined osteoporosis (mean total hip T score at baseline, −0.5). About 1000 women (age range, 50–60) were randomized to one of three groups: zoledronate at baseline and 5 years (zoledronate–zoledronate), zoledronate at baseline and placebo at 5 years (zoledronate–placebo), or placebo at both time …