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medpundit |
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Monday, November 08, 2004Arafat has been hospitalized outside of Paris for more than a week with blotchy skin, a low platelet count that is affecting his immune system, decreased mental capacity and a considerable loss of weight – all indicators of the presence of AIDS. Or dying at the hand of aides? Both of these possibilities seem like far-fetched rumors. He's an elderly man with liver failure. There are many more likely causes of his symptoms than the sensational poisoning or AIDS explanations. Number one would be cancer, and despite his aides' denials, I still believe this to be the case. Number two would be alcoholic cirrhosis or cirrhosis from some other cause. Hepatic failure is still the most likely explanation of his illness, especially when you consider images like this. His thin face and puffy belly is most consistent with liver failure. AIDS patients are emaciated all over. Meanwhile, Mrs. Arafat keeps hanging on to hope, or power. In a related vein, several readers have asked why it is that people of importance from the Middle East always end up in hospitals in the West. Good question. Even here in the heartland of Ohio, we have a clinic that caters to the rich of the Middle East. There are very good hospitals in the Middle East - all of them in Israel. Perhaps it's just that science, and by extension medicine, just doesn't flourish under totalitarianism. It isn't conducive to the free flow of ideas. Not to mention that anyone with half a chance to flee does, including doctors. posted by Sydney on 11/08/2004 07:16:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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