In February 2025, police found actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, dead in their California home. Authorities now believe that Arakawa died from an infection. Hackman, who had dementia, appeared to have died a week later from an inability to care for himself.
Hackman was one of many Americans living with memory loss. Currently, almost 7 million Americans ages 65 and older are living with dementia. The number is predicted to almost double by 2060 while the amount of available caregivers is expected to decrease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Can any of these potential dementia cases be prevented? Researchers have been examining which lifestyle factors could help reduce a person’s risk of developing memory loss.
How Can One Prevent Dementia?
The brain is a complex organ, and although scientists understand how memory loss diseases impact cognition, there is still a lot they would like to learn about prevention and what people can do to reduce their risk.
