Doctors at the Israeli Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem met on Sunday morning to discuss the condition and future treatment of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who has been fighting for his life since Wednesday's stroke.

The doctors decided to send the prime minister for another CT scan ahead of deciding when to rouse Sharon from his medically induced coma.

Sharon was admitted to Hadassah hospital on Wednesday evening after suffering a severe stroke and cerebral hemorrhage.

Until the prime minister regains consciousness, it will be impossible to determine the extent to which his brain has been damaged, said the doctors.

Hadassah director Shlomo Mor-Yosef told reporters outside the hospital on late Saturday that the scan of Sharon's brain, performed on Saturday, showed a slight improvement, but his overall condition remained critical.

The improvement was thanks to a certain diminution of the edema that causes the rise of the intra-cranial pressure, Mor-Yosef said.

Edema is an observable swelling from fluid accumulation in certain body tissues.

Sharon remained heavily sedated and on a respirator in intensive care unit on Saturday, a day after he underwent his third operation in 48 hours aimed at reducing intra-cranial pressure and stemming fresh cerebral bleeding.

The sudden grave illness of Sharon, long championed as capable of bold steps toward settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, has sent shocks across the Israeli political landscape and cast uncertainty to the prospects of the Mideast peace process.

Source: Xinhua