Pimp my Zimmer is the latest craze among the elderly. With the help of schoolchildren, care home residents have been decorating their walking frames with tinsel, foam bumpers, plastic flowers and knitting, resulting in a 60 per cent reduction in falls in some homes. The grey metal bars are hard for many to see and tricky for people with dementia to recognise. It helps to raise a smile and encourage a helping hand when residents make their way down the high street with their sparkling frames.

British scientists, too, are striving to improve the lot of the frail and elderly. This week a team announced that they have successfully tested a drug that suppresses the rogue gene behind Huntington’s disease, and the method might also