As humanity ages the numbers of people with dementia will surge

A FEW DAYS shy of her 90th birthday, tortured by leg ulcers and arthritis, Vera, one of some 850,000 Britons with dementia, has kept herself alive, it seems, to meet her first grandchild, due any moment now. But when the happy day comes and the baby is brought to her, she is confused. She recognises her daughter-in-law, but is puzzled by the bundle in her arms. “That’s nice, dear,” she says. “But why have you brought me a coconut?”