Q+A: Kennedy's collapse could be due to brain tumor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, who suffered a seizure at an inaugural lunch for Democratic President Barack Obama on Tuesday, has a brain tumor that doctors say could have caused the collapse.

Here are some questions and answers about the Massachusetts Democrat's condition:

Q. Could the tumor have caused Kennedy's collapse?

A. Yes. Kennedy was diagnosed in May with malignant glioma, a type of brain tumor that is incurable. A seizure caused doctors to perform a brain scan that led to the diagnosis.

Q. Does the seizure mean the tumor has come back?

A. Kennedy had surgery but doctors say the seizure does not necessarily mean the tumor has come back. Dr. Matt Ewend, chief of neurosurgery at the University of North Carolina, said patients who have had one seizure are prone to having more.

Q. What else can cause such a seizure?

A. "Anything that irritates the brain can cause seizures," Ewend says -- this includes swelling or pressure, low blood levels of seizure medication, low blood sugar levels or even having drunk some alcohol. "It is not an ominous sign to have a single seizure," Ewend says.

Dr. Jay Brooks of the Ochsner Clinic in Baton Rouge said his brain tumor patients often have seizures five months or so after chemotherapy or radiation treatment because the brain has swollen in response to the treatment.

Q. Is Kennedy taking medication to prevent seizures?

A. Kennedy has not released much information about his treatment. But, Ewend said, "If you had a patient who had a brain tumor and who had presented with a seizure, it would be pretty common to give the patient medication and for the patient to stay on the medication for life."

Q. How will doctors determine if Kennedy's condition is serious?

A. A CT or computed tomography scan, a special type of X-ray, will tell doctors if there is bleeding in the brain, swelling, or some other serious development. A magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI scan, may also be ordered.

Q. Will Kennedy recover from the seizure?

A. "Seizures are very frightening for people," Brooks said but patients usually recover quickly. Some may be groggy for an hour or so.

Q. Will Kennedy recover from his tumor?

A. A malignant glioma kills half its victims within a year and patients rarely survive more than three years. (Reporting by Maggie Fox, editing by Jackie Frank)