Doctor says no immediate danger to Sharon's life

The condition of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon improved further on Tuesday and there is no immediate danger to his life, Jerusalem Hadassah Hospital doctors said.

"The prime minister's condition is serious but there is no immediate danger to the prime minister's life," said Sharon's anaesthetist Yoram Weiss.

Although Sharon is still connected to a respirator, he has been breathing on his own since Monday shortly after doctors began pulling him out of a medically induced coma gradually, he said.

Meanwhile, hospital director Shlomo Mor-Yosef told reporters that all indicators about breathing, blood pressure, cranial pressure of Sharon are within normal range, adding that the movements of Sharon's right arm and leg were more intense than in a pain response test on Monday.

He also confirmed that Sharon showed slight movement on his left limbs for the first time since he suffered a massive stroke and brain hemorrhage last Wednesday.

"These are neurological changes that show a slight progress in the brain function of the prime minister Ariel Sharon," he said.

The damage to Sharon's brain is believed to be concentrated in those areas of the right hemisphere which control the left side of his body.

The doctors said they will continue reducing amount of sedatives Sharon is receiving for the next 24 hours.

They stressed the need to be patient with Sharon's recovery, saying it will take a few more days to assess the extent of damage to Sharon's brain.

Source: Xinhua