Scientists are getting warmer in their attempts to zero in on what causes hot flashes, intense surges of heat and sweating that affect millions of middle-aged women in the years leading to menopause. Studying rats, researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, in Tucson, have pinpointed a small region of the brain that may go awry during typical hot flashes, finding that a certain set of neurons acts as a virtual control switch for the problem when estrogen levels drop.
