Ariel Sharon's Condition Worsens

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma for more than seven months, suffered a further deterioration in his health Monday, according to the hospital where he is being treated.

A new brain scan showed a worsening in his brain function, his urine output has decreased significantly and a chest scan showed that he had a new infection in his lungs, said Anat Dolev, spokeswoman for the Chaim Sheba Medical Center.

Dolev wouldn't say whether Sharon's life was in danger, but said that doctors were treating him with broad-spectrum antibiotics and steroids.

Sharon, 78, has been in a coma since suffering a massive stroke Jan. 4. He underwent several, extensive brain surgeries to stop cerebral hemorrhaging, in addition to other, more minor procedures.

After spending months in the Jerusalem hospital where he was initially treated, Sharon was transferred to the long-term care facility at Sheba hospital in May.

Sharon was rushed to the intensive care unit of the hospital on July 26 to undergo dialysis because his kidneys were failing. Hospital officials said they also noticed changes in his brain membrane. At the time, hospital officials said Sharon was receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat a bacterial infection in his blood.

Independent doctors said at the time that the extensive treatment Sharon was receiving could keep him alive for weeks or months, though his problems would likely snowball.

Sharon, Israel's most popular politician, had a small stroke in December and was put on blood thinners before suffering the severe brain hemorrhage in January. The Israeli leader underwent several, extensive brain surgeries to stop the bleeding, and many independent experts doubted he would recover.

His stroke came after Sharon saw through his contentious plan to withdraw Israel from the Gaza Strip after 38 years. Just two months before the stroke, Sharon shook up the Israeli political map by bolting his hard-line Likud Party to form the centrist Kadima faction.

After the stroke, Sharon's successor, Ehud Olmert, led Kadima to victory in a March 28 vote and became prime minister.