Sad news indeed -- jcm"Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe," physicians Lee Schwamm and Larry Ronan said in a statement.
The normal course of treatment for such a condition is radiation and chemotherapy, the doctors said, adding that Kennedy, 76, sole surviving brother of assassinated president John F. Kennedy, was in "good spirits and full of energy."
Schwamm, vice chairman of Masschusetts General Hospital's neurology department and Ronan, a primary care physician, said further analysis and tests were needed to determine the best course of treatment for Kennedy.
The statement did not make any judgement of his prognosis, but said he will remain in hospital for the next few days.
Kennedy's latest health scare came six months after he had surgery to clear a blockage in a major neck artery, a common procedure to prevent a stroke.
Since then, he has been back in the Senate, and only last week was in ebullient form, piloting a bill through the chamber where he has served for more than more than 45 years, and is the second longest serving incumbent.
He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980, but lost the race to incumbent president Jimmy Carter.
Kennedy is the patriarch of a family political dynasty blessed with greatness but frequently rocked by tragedy.
John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in 1963, and another brother Robert Kennedy was shot dead while campaigning for the presidency in 1968.
Edward, or Teddy Kennedy, as he is often known, is an unapologetic liberal and an orator who recalls a bygone era of roaring political rhetoric.
He is a champion of causes such as health care, education, workers rights and immigration reform, and has been a fierce critic of President George W. Bush.
Recently, he symbolically passed the Democratic party torch to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, cooling his ties with Hillary Clinton, who had hoped to enlist his support.
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