(Credit: YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock) Hot flashes — sudden rushes of overwhelming warmth that heat up the body like a roaring furnace – plague millions of women, and some men. Now scientists find a single type of brain cell is responsible for setting off these heat bombs in mice. The discovery may lead to better treatments for keeping the body’s thermostat at a pleasant temperature. Currently, the go-to remedy for hot flashes is estrogen replacement therapy to compensate for a drop in estrogen levels after menopause. But as a hormone, estrogen has effects throughout the body and isn’t an option for many people including those with liver disease, who are at risk for strokes and women suffering breast cancer. To find better treatments, scientists needed a better grasp on what causes hot flashes.
Richard Palmiter, a neuroscientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, had a hunch. Five years ago, a neurologist ...
