42 U.S.C. § 285d–1: National arthritis and…

§285d–1 National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Program

Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER III — NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES › Part C — Specific Provisions Respecting National Research Institutes › subpart 4 — national institute of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases › § 285d–1

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The head of the Institute must write and send a plan to the NIH director to grow, strengthen, and better coordinate the nation’s research and activities on arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases. The Institute’s advisory council will help with the plan. The plan must especially push for more research into the causes and better treatments for arthritis in children. The head must review and update the plan regularly and send any revisions to the NIH director. The program must be coordinated with other national research institutes that have related responsibilities. It must include work on how these diseases start, spread, and can be prevented; support basic science across fields like genetics and immunology; develop, test, and evaluate diagnostics, drugs, devices, and rehabilitation methods; create and improve replacement technologies for damaged bones, muscles, and joints; set up ways to track and prevent school sports injuries; and focus on causes and treatments for childhood arthritis. The Institute must carry out the program exactly as the plan and its updates require.

Title 42, §285d–1

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Plan to expand, intensify, and coordinate activities; submission; periodic review and revision

The Director of the Institute, with the advice of the Institute’s advisory council, shall prepare and transmit to the Director of NIH a plan for a national arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases program to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute respecting arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases. The plan shall include such comments and recommendations as the Director of the Institute determines appropriate. The plan shall place particular emphasis upon expanding research into better understanding the causes and the development of effective treatments for arthritis affecting children. The Director of the Institute shall periodically review and revise such plan and shall transmit any revisions of such plan to the Director of NIH.

(b)Coordination of activities with other national research institutes; minimum activities under program

Activities under the national arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases program shall be coordinated with the other national research institutes to the extent that such institutes have responsibilities respecting arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, and shall, at least, provide for— (1)

(2)research into the development, trial, and evaluation of techniques, drugs, and devices used in the diagnosis, treatment, including medical rehabilitation, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases;

(3)research on the refinement, development, and evaluation of technological devices that will replace or be a substitute for damaged bone, muscle, and joints and other supporting structures;

(4)the establishment of mechanisms to monitor the causes of athletic injuries and identify ways of preventing such injuries on scholastic athletic fields; and

(5)research into the causes of arthritis affecting children and the development, trial, and evaluation of techniques, drugs and devices used in the diagnosis, treatment (including medical rehabilitation), and prevention of arthritis in children.

(c)Program to be carried out in accordance with plan

The Director of the Institute shall carry out the national arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases program in accordance with the plan prepared under subsection (a) and any revisions of such plan made under such subsection.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1993—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–43, § 701(b)(1), inserted after second sentence “The plan shall place particular emphasis upon expanding research into better understanding the causes and the development of effective treatments for arthritis affecting children.” Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 103–43, § 701(b)(2), added par. (5). 1988—Pub. L. 100–607 inserted “and skin” after “musculoskeletal” in section catchline and wherever appearing in text.