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Hot
flashes, also known as vasomotor symptoms or hot flushes, are brief,
uncomfortable, and intense waves of heat that plague more than 80% of
women experiencing menopause. Often accompanied by dizziness,
anxiety, and blotchy skin, hot flashes can prevent those experiencing them
from sleeping well, working, and enjoying day-to-day activities, according to
the Mayo Clinic. Though long-known to occur due to changing estrogen levels,
doctors and researchers weren’t always sure why.
Naomi Rance, a retired neuropathology professor at the University of Arizona
College of Medicine, is a “pioneer” in hot flashes research,
National
Geographic reports. In 1997, her laboratory identified three key
protein signals produced by enlarged neurons in the hypothalami (which help
manage hormones) of post-menopausal women: kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and
dynorphin — nicknamed the KNDy neurons. In 2020, another researcher, Dr.
Susan Reed, presented research into non-hormonal therapy that would work by
blocking the KNDy neuron receptors.
Now, two new non-hormonal drugs that do just that are undergoing clinical
trials. Elinzanetant, developed by Bayer, and fezolinetant, developed by
Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas, are both in phase 3 trials. They’re
the first class of drugs designed specifically to target hot flashes since
Premarin came on the market in 1941. Genevieve Neal-Perry, who is studying
fezolinetant, told Nat Geo: “In the past decade, we were finally able to
put the puzzle pieces together.”
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