US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was hospitalized July 30 after reportedly having a seizure. Press reports state he also had a seizure 14 years ago. Everyone at epilepsy.com and its parent organization, The Epilepsy Therapy Project , would like to wish Chief Justice Roberts a speedy recovery.

While further details about Chief Justice Roberts have not been made public, the news report has raised many questions about types of seizures and their relationship to epilepsy. A seizure is a sudden excessive discharge of nervous-system electrical activity that usually causes a change in behavior. This surge of electrical activity in the brain usually affects how a person feels or acts for a short time. Seizures are not a disease in themselves. Instead, they are a symptom of many different disorders that can affect the brain. Some seizures are barely noticeable, while others are totally disabling.

Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by transient but recurrent disturbances of brain function that may or may not be associated with impairment or loss of consciousness and abnormal movements or behavior. Epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but often the cause is completely unknown. The word "epilepsy" does not indicate anything about the cause or severity of the person's seizures.

Epilepsy.com has accurate and up-to-date information about seizures and epilepsy. Visit Epilepsy 101 at http://www.epilepsy.com/101/101_epilepsy.html, and explore our site to learn more about the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy.