LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences says it's received an $8 million grant to study osteoporosis.

The university announced the grant Monday from the National Institutes of Health. The institute awarded the 5-year grant to UAMS' Center for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bones Diseases.

UAMS says the goal of the research is to understand what causes osteoporosis, particularly in postmenopausal women, elderly men and women, and patients who develop the disease as a side effect from taking steroids.

UAMS says more than 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and another 34 million have low bone mass that puts them at risk for developing the disease.

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