August 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
Cardiology staff at their own congress took less treatment than the public they advise
Healthcare professionals attending the 2025 ESC Congress went through a cardiovascular health check set against matched controls from the general population. Unrecognised high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes matched the general-population rates, yet in primary prevention 27.6 per cent were on blood-pressure-lowering medication against 46.5 per cent of controls. In a cohort of women who had gestational diabetes, medium walkability neighbourhoods tracked a 15 per cent lower type 2 diabetes rate than low walkability areas, and only in affluent neighbourhoods.
Catheter ablation beat a sham on rhythm but not on the AFEQT quality-of-life score
The AFEQT quality-of-life score in PVI-SHAM-AF rose from 61.3 to 81.1 after catheter ablation and from 59.2 to 74.9 after a sham, a primary gap that did not separate, while freedom from atrial fibrillation at six months was 73 per cent against 52 per cent. New cardiac rehabilitation guidelines name exercise training, emotional support and personalised education as core components and extend the programme to people with atrial fibrillation.
ChatGPT must mitigate DSA systemic risks by January 2027
The Commission designated ChatGPT as a very large online search engine and Reddit and Roblox as very large online platforms after they declared at least 45 million average monthly users in the EU. ChatGPT falls under the Digital Services Act's heaviest obligations and is the first generative AI chatbot in that tier. The three services have four months to comply, which the Commission puts at January 2027. By then they must assess and mitigate systemic risks covering illegal content, harm to minors, well-being, fundamental rights, elections and public security.
China's factories shrink for a second month as MÜSİAD's composite index tops 50
China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 49.8 in August, up from 49.2 in July, a shade under the 49.85 economists had expected, and still under the 50 line for a second month. New orders returned to growth at 50.6 and new export orders at 50.1. MÜSİAD's composite purchasing index rose 0.8 points to 50.3, with manufacturing down 2 points at 51.6 and services down 0.2 points at 48.1.
Cloudflare and Copilot move the AI-to-web boundary in opposite directions
Cloudflare has added a discover mode to AI Search that removes the requirement that a site publish a sitemap, and the service runs crawling, ingestion, embedding and retrieval from a single command. Microsoft now requires a sign-in for anyone who goes to copilot.microsoft.com or presses the Copilot button on the Bing homepage. Copilot Search answers inside Bing results remain visible without signing in. These are two separate systems. One widens what of the open web gets crawled. The other closes what can be used without an account.
Container rates to Iran near 10,000 dollars as the blockade stills Bandar Abbas
A reinstated US naval blockade off Iran's southern coast has brought most of Iran's commercial shipping to a halt. Enforcement resumed in mid-July; more than 80 per cent of heavy imports and non-oil exports have been disrupted, with freight near 10,000 dollars a container and Bandar Abbas reduced to a trickle. In Hormozgan, authorities seized a sugar-laden bulk carrier over oil dumped into the strait and said they plan to charge transit fees; Washington opposes any fees, and no fee schedule has been published.
ESC and ERA ask for a kidney test at every cardiovascular diagnosis
The European Society of Cardiology and European Renal Association ask for glomerular filtration rate and urine albumin-to-creatinine tests at every cardiovascular diagnosis. About 100 million people in Europe have chronic kidney disease. Guidance starts SGLT2 and renin-angiotensin inhibitors early, alongside statins. Nelson Wang finds only 2 per cent of patients receive four-pillar heart failure treatment; clinicians hold off fearing kidney function. CorCal Outcomes, calcium scoring and risk equations left major events at 2.7 per cent, adherence at 62 per cent against 23 per cent.
Fires at a Belgorod power plant and an Ozon warehouse after Ukrainian strikes
Acting Governor Alexander Shuvaev attributed casualties and fires in Belgorod on Sunday to a Ukrainian attack, with no figure for people hurt; the account has not been independently confirmed. Pepel said a strike hit the thermal power plant. Ozon said its warehouse was hit, staff were evacuated, casualties remained, and it halted operations in the city. Ukraine's attacks on Ozon warehouses last week followed strikes on Wildberries sites that Kyiv officials accused of supplying drone parts. Mykhailo Fedorov said he is seeking US investment for a defence technology fund.
Gas-price fears lift US inflation expectations most for lower-income households
A San Francisco Fed letter finds a 10 point upward revision in expected gasoline price growth went with a 0.38 point rise in one-year inflation expectations for households under 50,000 dollars a year. Between 50,000 and 100,000 dollars that move is 0.24 points, above 100,000 dollars 0.12 points. Downward revisions bring no matching decline. US pump prices stayed above 4 dollars a gallon every day of August. Inflation runs above 3 per cent against the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent target.
Gene silencers cut ATTR-CM death and heart events 20 per cent, except with tafamidis
A meta-analysis of two phase 3 outcome trials of transthyretin gene silencing covered 2,086 people with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy. Against placebo the drugs cut all-cause death and recurrent cardiovascular events by 20 per cent. Six-minute walk distance improved by 22.2 metres. In people already taking a transthyretin stabiliser the rate ratio sat at 0.97. Plozasiran, given as 25 mg every three months, cut triglycerides 79 per cent and 81 per cent in two trials, against about 27 per cent on placebo.