WASHINGTON: Veteran US Senator Edward Kennedy is "doing pretty well" in hospital after suffering a seizure this weekend but must still undergo some tests, one of his Democratic colleagues said on Sunday.

Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut said on Fox television that he had spoken to Kennedy's wife on Saturday and the prognosis was good.

"I spoke with Vicki Kennedy yesterday. I spoke with his son last evening. And I think the reports sound good," he said.

Dodd added: "There'll be some tests I guess on Monday, but he seems to be doing pretty well. And we just hope for the very best for him and are confident he'll be fine."

Kennedy's office said in a statement: "Senator Kennedy got a good night's sleep, and we expect today (Sunday) to be very quiet."

The 76-year-old patriarch of the Kennedy clan is the last surviving brother of late president John F. Kennedy, assassinated in 1963, and Robert Kennedy, shot dead while campaigning in 1968.

He was airlifted to Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital on Saturday after falling ill at the family compound on Cape Cod.

Kennedy's doctor, Larry Ronan, said preliminary tests found the senator had not suffered a stroke and was in no immediate danger, but would undergo more evaluations over the next few days to determine what caused the seizure. - AFP/de