Medical Health

JERUSALEM -- Newly revealed medical records have failed to solve the mystery of Yasser Arafat's death, although they do cast doubt on popular conspiracy theories about poisoning or rumors of AIDS. But the main question _ what led to the massive stroke that killed the longtime Palestinian leader _ may never be answered.

While Arafat's death has led to an improvement in Israeli-Palestinian relations, ongoing doubts about whether foul play killed him remain a sticking point.

Arafat, 75, died Nov. 11, 2004, in a French military hospital near Paris after a sudden, rapid decline in his health. Arafat's wife, Suha, refused an autopsy and Palestinian leaders have never given a definitive cause of death.

Two Israeli journalists obtained Arafat's medical records from a senior Palestinian official and turned over the information to The New York Times. One of the journalists, Israel Radio reporter Avi Isacharoff, then shared the records with The Associated Press, which, like the Times, put the information to medical experts.

French doctors who treated Arafat concluded he died of a "massive brain hemorrhage" after suffering intestinal inflammation, jaundice and a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation, or DIC.

But the records are inconclusive about what brought about DIC, which has numerous causes ranging from infections to colitis to liver disease.

"Consultation with experts and laboratory tests could not help to find a cause that would explain ... the group of syndromes," the French doctors wrote. The report makes no mention of poisoning or AIDS.

Arafat was rushed to the Percy Military Training Hospital outside Paris after falling violently ill at his West Bank compound in Ramallah, where Israel had confined him for the last three years of his life. He had been in poor health for several years.

The French report criticized Arafat's living conditions, noting he lived "in confinement for three years" and "had no exposure to the sun during that time." One set of doctors said Arafat did not eat well and had poor hygiene, although other doctors said his diet was sufficient.

Hospital director Dr. Jean-Paul Burlaton refused to discuss Arafat's medical records. "We did our job at the appropriate time and so we have no comment to make," he told the AP.

Since Arafat's death, rumors have swirled throughout the Middle East that Arafat died from either AIDS or poisoning. Many Palestinian officials insist that Israeli agents somehow poisoned him.

Dr. Ashraf al-Kurdi, Arafat's personal physician, asserted Arafat had the AIDS virus in his blood. "It was given to him to cover up the poison," he told the AP. Al-Kurdi, however, did not say how the AIDS virus or poison might have entered Arafat's body. He did not join the French doctors and would not say whether he had seen their records.