CNN – As her memory faded from Alzheimer’s disease in her late 50s, Tammy Maida began to lose track of her life. Car keys, eyeglasses and her purse disappeared multiple times a day.
Key characters in novels she was reading were forgotten. Groceries were left in the garage. Keeping the books for the family’s businesses became impossible.
“I honestly thought I was losing my mind, and the fear of losing my mind was frightening,” Maida told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the 2024 CNN documentary “The Last Alzheimer’s Patient.”
After 20 weeks in a randomized clinical trial designed to drastically change her diet, exercise, stress levels and social interactions, Maida’s cognition improved. She was able to read and recall novels and correctly balance spreadsheets again.
“A blood test found levels of amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, were retreating in her brain.”
“I’m coming back. It was really good — like I was prior to the disease being diagnosed,” Maida, now 68, told a researcher on the study. “An older but better version of me.”
Maida’s cognition showed additional improvement, however, after she completed a total of 40 weeks of intensive lifestyle changes, said principal investigator Dr. Dean Ornish, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and creator of the Ornish diet and lifestyle medicine program.
Ornish gave a study update on Tuesday at the 2025 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto.
While not everyone in the 26-person interventional group benefited, 46% showed improvement in three of four standardized tests, he said, including one that measures changes in memory, judgment and problem-solving as well as the ability to function at home, practice hobbies and practice personal hygiene …
