Updated

The head of the Israeli hospital treating Ariel Sharon says he is pessimistic about the former prime minister's prognosis, despite doctors' success in stabilizing some of his bodily functions.

Dr. Zeev Rotstein, director of the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, said Sunday that doctors had managed to stabilize Sharon's circulatory system over the weekend. But Rotstein said there is no improvement in Sharon's kidney function or with other vital organs that have been slowly declining since last week.

The doctor called Sharon's condition critical and life-threatening.

The 85-year-old Sharon has been in a coma for eight years after a devastating stroke incapacitated him at the peak of his political power.

Sharon was one of Israel's most iconic and controversial figures.