The charity 'Wellbeing of Women', which funded the study, hopes these findings could lead to new treatment options for hot flushes, offering an alternative to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).
Researcher Prof Lumsden said, "My team and I have found that the blood vessels of women who get hot flushes dilate much more easily than those that don't, and that they became less 'reactive' when a drug such as serotonin is prescribed. What's fascinating is that it appears to be the blood vessels themselves rather than what goes on in the brain that actually causes hot flushes.
However, venlafaxine comes with significant withdrawal symptoms including anxiety, low mood, insomnia and nausea.
Source: Medindia