Trans-ancestry GWAS of hot flashes reveals potent treatment target and overlap with psychiatric disorders
These genomic findings are consistent with independent, robust basic science research which led to a recently developed treatment for hot flashes, namely, a neurokinin 3 receptor antagonist. This non-hormonal class of hot flash drugs blocks the receptor coded for by the top locus reported here (TACR3, the neurokinin 3 receptor gene). Hot flash GWAS results provide an example of how GWAS findings can point to potent treatment targets for complex brain phenotypes.
Authors
- Benson Kung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3121-789X)
- Charles Kooperberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7986-8560)
- Aladdin H. Shadyab (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9693-0522)
- Carolyn Crandall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9441-0198)
- Laramie E. Duncan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1131-661X)
- Tayden Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4553-210X)
- Andrew Ratanatharathorn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9855-0438)
- Joeri Meijsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4161-2199)
- Brittany L. Mitchell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9050-1516)
- Madeleine Salem
- Ciera Stafford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1438-474X)
- Scott D. Gordon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7623-328X)
- Mytilee Vemuri
- Hanyang Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3273-9777)
- Kathryn Werwath
- Karestan C. Koenen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3293-4281)
- N. Martin
- Rebecca B. Lawn
Institutions
- Harvard University (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Neurosciences Institute (US)
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (AU)
- Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (DK)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Fred Hutch Cancer Center (US)
- Human Longevity (United States) (US)
- Stanford Medicine (US)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Medicine
- Published
- 2026-01-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01305-8
- Primary Topic
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health