Chief Justice Roberts Suffers Seizure

The WaPo:

ROCKPORT, Maine, July 30 -- Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was rushed to a hospital here Monday afternoon after suffering a seizure at his summer island home, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said.

Roberts, 52, fell on a dock after having a "benign idiopathic seizure," said Kathleen Landin Arberg, the court's public information officer. She said that Roberts has "fully recovered from the incident" but that he would remain at Penobscot Bay Medical Center here overnight for observation.

"Idiopathic" means the cause is unknown.

The Post also reports that this was the second such incident with Roberts. The first seizure, which happened in 1993, was disclosed to the Senate Committee during his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court, but wasn't deemed relevant.

We get this additional tidbit from Forbes:

Medical opinions differed on just what Roberts' seizures mean.

Someone who has had more than one seizure without any other cause is determined to have epilepsy, said Dr. Marc Schlosberg, a neurologist at Washington Hospital Center, who is not involved in the Roberts' case.

Whether Roberts will need anti-seizure medications to prevent another is something he and his doctor will have to decide. But after two seizures, the likelihood of another at some point is greater than 60 percent. "When it's going to occur, obviously nobody knows," Schlosberg said.

There's not much information at this point, except that Roberts seems to be fine save for some minor scrapes. But the possibility that it's epilepsy complicates matters, because a bad episode can cause more serious physical injuries. He can take medication to control it but as the NYT notes:

Dr. Langer said it could be difficult for doctors to decide whether the chief justice, who, at 52 is the youngest member of the court,, should start taking medication, which Dr. Langer said "have significant side effects."

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