42 U.S.C. § 285d–1 — National arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases program

(a) Plan to expand, intensify, and coordinate activities: With advice from the Institute's advisory council, the Director must write and send the Director of NIH a plan for a national arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases program. The plan expands, focuses, and coordinates the Institute's work on these diseases, and must include any comments and recommendations the Director thinks fit. The plan must especially focus on better understanding the causes of arthritis in children and developing effective treatments for them. The Director must periodically review and update the plan, sending any revisions to the Director of NIH. (b) Coordination of activities with other institutes; minimum activities: The program must be coordinated with other national research institutes that also work on these diseases. At minimum, it must provide for: (1) research into the epidemiology, causes, and prevention of all forms of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases — including sports-related disorders — mainly through basic research in fields like immunology, genetics, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, bioengineering, and any other science that can help; (2) research developing, testing, and evaluating techniques, drugs, and devices for diagnosing, treating (including rehabilitation), and preventing these diseases; (3) research refining, developing, and evaluating devices that replace or substitute for damaged bone, muscle, joints, and other supporting structures; (4) setting up ways to track the causes of athletic injuries and find ways to prevent them on school athletic fields; and (5) research into the causes of childhood arthritis and the development, testing, and evaluation of diagnosis, treatment (including rehabilitation), and prevention techniques, drugs, and devices for it. (c) Program follows the plan: The Director must run the national program according to the plan made under subsection (a), and any later revisions to that plan.