German researchers hard at work . . .

[Torontonian]

'If comic-book characters repeatedly beat each other over the head, they hurt their brains, study finds.

'A study by German researchers has concluded what many Asterix fans have long suspected: Traumatic brain injuries were rampant among Roman soldiers stationed in northwestern Gaul around 50 B.C.

'The researchers at the Department for Neurosurgery, at Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, studied the 34 Asterix books and found 704 cases of traumatic brain injury. The study found that the injuries were overwhelmingly suffered by men and 98.8 per cent were caused by assault.

'There was no breakdown on whether the assaults involved fists, menhirs or slightly smelly fish, however.

'The Romans, who made up nearly 65 per cent of the brain injuries, may have wished that they had been wearing better designed equipment because the study found that while most victims were wearing helmets, these were lost during altercations nearly 90 per cent of the time.

'But the study did have some good news for Roman soldiers: “Although over half of patients had an initially severe impairment of consciousness after TBI, no permanent deficit could be found.â€

'The study does not address the possibility that this helped the Roman Empire survive as long as it did.'

[El Presidente]

Hard to believe that being belted over the head could cause brain injury.

To the researchers....keep up the good work