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Sharon slightly improved Wednesday

A week after stroke, Israeli leader not 'out of danger'

Sharon, seen here in a 2004 photo, has been hospitalized since a major stroke on January 4.

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From warrior to statesman (3:00)

Sharon shows progress moving hands, leg (2:32)

Health woes put peace process on backburner (2:02)

Timeline: Sharon biography

• Experts: Sharon not out of woods

• Raz: Small nation, huge influence

• Blitzer: Sharon's history is Israel's

• Greenfield: History's fateful twists

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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A week after suffering a major stroke, doctors saw "slight improvement" Wednesday in Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's condition, according to a statement released from Hadassah Hospital.

Dr. Felix Umansky, a physician who has been treating the 77-year-old leader, told Israeli television that "we cannot say that he is out of danger."

Also appearing on Israeli television -- another Sharon physician, Dr. Jose Cohen -- said the prime minister's recovery would likely take months. "Do not think of this in terms of days, or in terms of weeks," Cohen said. "This will take a long time."

The Hadassah statement released Wednesday said Sharon's "condition continues to be serious and stable.

"During the day, there has been a slight improvement as shown by the various neurological tests carried out by his doctors," the statement said. "The prime minister still requires a very low dosage of anesthesia."

Doctors have been slowly lowering Sharon's anesthesia dosage, which has kept the prime minister in a medically induced coma.

On Tuesday, doctors said Sharon moved his left hand. He also moved his right hand and right leg with more strength than he had in the past. The movement of his left hand is significant because that hand is controlled by the right side of the brain, which was damaged in the January 4 stroke.

"Metaphorically speaking, we were right on the edge of the cliff," said Sharon's anesthesiologist, Dr. Yoram Weiss. "Now we are five meters back." (Watch doctor say Sharon has moved away from "the edge of the cliff" -- 2:32)

After his stroke, Sharon underwent three surgeries, totaling 13 hours, to stop the bleeding in his brain.

Sharon's two sons have been visiting the intensive care unit where their father has been recovering. Doctors played music by composer Wolfgang Mozart, one of Sharon's favorites.

Doctors said Sharon is continuing to breathe on his own, although he remains attached to a respirator.

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been presiding over Israeli government Cabinet meetings, leaving the chair Sharon usually occupies empty. (Profile)

Medical experts have said it is unlikely Sharon would recover enough to be able to lead the country.

Sharon's stroke comes at a politically sensitive time for his Kadima party, which faces its first national election, scheduled for March 28.

In November, Sharon abandoned the dominant right-wing Likud bloc he helped found in 1973. He had hoped to build support for his contentious proposal to turn over Gaza and parts of the West Bank to Palestinian control, while dismantling some Israeli settlements.

Faced with strong opposition from his Likud counterparts, Sharon left the bloc and formed the centrist Kadima party.

By moving toward the center of the political spectrum, Sharon had planned to complete the West Bank withdrawal and conduct final negotiations with the Palestinians based on the "road map" for peace being pushed by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.