Menopause as we know it is the point in a woman's life, where menstruation halts. Usually happening between the ages of 45-50 years of age, menopause is a normal condition that almost all of the women experience as they age. Hot flashes and night sweats are the common signs and symptoms of the said bodily activity.
However, Medical News Today has revealed that a significant number of women do not experience these symptoms. A team of researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) led the research investigating whether genetics might be an important factor which has been found to have a huge impact to menopausal hot flashes in women. The team claims that with further studies to be conducted, they might just be able to find new treatments as well.
In one of her interviews, a professor of medicine at USLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and study lead investigator Carolyn Crandall claims that no amount of previous studies have given emphasis on how genetic variants in women could possibly be linked with hot flashes.
CBS News has reported Betty Glick's experience, like any other women, she also has encountered hot flashes from her menopause. As she would describe it, it is like a sensation being flushed with heat. On her case, it usually starts from the neck, up to her head followed by episodes of sweating.
Meanwhile, as UCLA experts have started to conduct their research, it was found that for women who had certain gene variants that affect a part in the brain that maintains the estrogen levels were more likely to experience hot flashes. As researchers would claim it, this was the first study that's ever been done to include the whole genome to find the link between hot flashes and night sweats.
Prof. Crandall together with her colleagues has also revealed that their study was limited as to how environmental factors could have been involved in the process and as well as other rare genetic variants that also contributes to the occurrence of hot flashes. Furthermore, they have also admittedly claimed that more research is still needed as to how these certain types of factors might impact menopause symptoms.
