Shimon Peres: ‘Some improvement,’ responsiveness after stroke, doctors say

Emanuella Grinberg
By Oren Liebermann, Jason Hanna and Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
Updated 6:02 PM EDT, Wed September 14, 2016
An archive portrait taken on January 14, 1985 in Jerusalem shows Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres speaking. AFP PHOTO ESAIAS BAITEL / AFP / ESAIAS BAITEL (Photo credit should read ESAIAS BAITEL/AFP/Getty Images)
ESAIAS BAITEL/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
An archive portrait taken on January 14, 1985 in Jerusalem shows Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres speaking. AFP PHOTO ESAIAS BAITEL / AFP / ESAIAS BAITEL (Photo credit should read ESAIAS BAITEL/AFP/Getty Images)
Now playing
01:06
Shimon Peres died at 93
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: A visual representation of the digital Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin on December 07, 2017 in London, England. Cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Lightcoin have seen unprecedented growth in 2017, despite remaining extremely volatile. While digital currencies across the board have divided opinion between financial institutions, and now have a market cap of around 175 Billion USD, the crypto sector coninues to grow, as it continues to see wider mainstreem adoption. The price of one Bitcoin passed 15,000 USD across many exchanges today taking it higher than previous all time highs. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: A visual representation of the digital Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin on December 07, 2017 in London, England. Cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Lightcoin have seen unprecedented growth in 2017, despite remaining extremely volatile. While digital currencies across the board have divided opinion between financial institutions, and now have a market cap of around 175 Billion USD, the crypto sector coninues to grow, as it continues to see wider mainstreem adoption. The price of one Bitcoin passed 15,000 USD across many exchanges today taking it higher than previous all time highs. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Now playing
03:07
Bitcoin has an energy problem
Now playing
05:18
Anderson Cooper explains how he overcomes being shy
Now playing
01:32
Scientists turned spiderwebs into music and it sounds like a nightmare
Kristina Barboza
Now playing
03:09
Grieving mom's advice to other families: You can try to help, support and love
Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
Now playing
01:02
Aaron Rodgers' Green Bay Packers question stumps 'Jeopardy!' contestants
Now playing
02:35
WWII veteran: End of the war was 'the biggest thrill of my life'
Now playing
05:18
Coinbase CFO: We're an on-ramp to the crypto economy
CNN
Now playing
02:12
'Too dangerous to do anymore': Sacha Baron Cohen on Borat
Christopher Hamilton
Now playing
01:01
Volcanologist shares what he prefers to cook on lava flows
John Avlon 0413 Wallace
CNN
John Avlon 0413 Wallace
Now playing
03:31
Avlon compares Tucker Carlson's comments to George Wallace
screengrab hong kong oscars
IMDB / Field of Vision
screengrab hong kong oscars
Now playing
02:50
Hong Kong won't air Oscars for the first time since 1968
Now playing
01:27
See the first community of 3D-printed homes
Burlington, MA Headquarters
Nuance
Burlington, MA Headquarters
Now playing
01:34
Microsoft to buy AI company Nuance
Now playing
02:50
Sleep doctor tells Anderson Cooper how long a power nap should be
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 01: Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell testifies during a Senate Banking Committee hearing about the quarterly CARES Act report on Capitol Hill December 1, 2020 in Washington, DC. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also testified at the hearing. (Photo by Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images)
Susan Walsh/Pool/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 01: Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell testifies during a Senate Banking Committee hearing about the quarterly CARES Act report on Capitol Hill December 1, 2020 in Washington, DC. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also testified at the hearing. (Photo by Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images)
Now playing
02:06
Fed chief: The economy is about to grow more quickly

Story highlights

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman says he is more optimistic about Peres' condition

Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres suffered stroke on Tuesday

(CNN) —  

Former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres’ condition has improved somewhat a day after his stroke, and he was able to shake his son-in-law’s hand as physicians reduced his level of sedation, doctors said Wednesday.

Peres, 93, is in severe but stable condition, and is intubated and sedated, following Tuesday’s stroke, said Dr. Yitshak Kreiss, manager of Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, where Peres is being treated.

“He is slightly more alert, and it is our impression that his neurological condition is a little bit better,” Kreiss said Wednesday afternoon at the hospital.

Kreiss wasn’t alone in sounding a cautiously optimistic view of Peres’ condition. Peres’ son-in-law and personal physician, Dr. Rafi Walden, said the veteran politician and Nobel laureate “responded very well” as his sedation dosage has been reduced.

“He understood what he was told. He shook my hand energetically,” Walden said. “There has been a significant improvement in his consciousness.”

Former Israel Prime Minister and Nobel laureate Shimon Peres' career in politics spanned several generations. He's seen here during a meeting with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout on May 5, 2010.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Bernat Armangue/AP
Former Israel Prime Minister and Nobel laureate Shimon Peres' career in politics spanned several generations. He's seen here during a meeting with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout on May 5, 2010.
Shimon Peres was born on August 2, 1923 in Wisniew, Poland, where he lived before his family migrated to British-mandate Palestine in 1932. He is pictured here, center, with his mother, Sarah, and younger brother Gershon.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Facebook
Shimon Peres was born on August 2, 1923 in Wisniew, Poland, where he lived before his family migrated to British-mandate Palestine in 1932. He is pictured here, center, with his mother, Sarah, and younger brother Gershon.
Peres is seen here with his wife Sonia Peres and daughter, Ziviah, in 1946. The couple also had two other children, sons Chemi Peres and Yoni Peres.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Facebook
Peres is seen here with his wife Sonia Peres and daughter, Ziviah, in 1946. The couple also had two other children, sons Chemi Peres and Yoni Peres.
Peres is seen here at left with Moshe Dayan, center, an Israeli military leader and politician, at the Taj Mahal in India, circa 1950. Peres entered politics in 1959 as a member of the left-wing Mapai party, a precursor to the modern Labor party. His political career lasted more than half a century, and he held virtually every position in Israel's Cabinet.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Facebook
Peres is seen here at left with Moshe Dayan, center, an Israeli military leader and politician, at the Taj Mahal in India, circa 1950. Peres entered politics in 1959 as a member of the left-wing Mapai party, a precursor to the modern Labor party. His political career lasted more than half a century, and he held virtually every position in Israel's Cabinet.
Peres retired from public office in 2014 after a seven-year term as President. By then, he had been in Israeli politics for more than half a century, holding virtually every position in the Cabinet and emerging as a staunch advocate for peace in the Middle East. Here, Peres sits in his office in Tel Aviv, Israel, in November 1969.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Fondation Gilles Caron/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Peres retired from public office in 2014 after a seven-year term as President. By then, he had been in Israeli politics for more than half a century, holding virtually every position in the Cabinet and emerging as a staunch advocate for peace in the Middle East. Here, Peres sits in his office in Tel Aviv, Israel, in November 1969.
Peres, left, with then-Israel Defense Minister Ariel Sharon on January 2, 1974 in Ras Sudar in Egypt's Sinai Desert. The two were visiting one of the sites of the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images
Peres, left, with then-Israel Defense Minister Ariel Sharon on January 2, 1974 in Ras Sudar in Egypt's Sinai Desert. The two were visiting one of the sites of the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states.
Peres, then Israel's Minister of Defense, pointing over Israel's northern border towards Lebanon during a tour of Lebanese border defenses on January 22, 1976.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Peres, then Israel's Minister of Defense, pointing over Israel's northern border towards Lebanon during a tour of Lebanese border defenses on January 22, 1976.
Defense Minister and acting Prime Minister Shimon Peres speaks with Israeli Arabs before Israelis go to the polls in Umm al-Fahm, Israel, on May 17, 1977 in the country's national elections.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Bettmann Archive
Defense Minister and acting Prime Minister Shimon Peres speaks with Israeli Arabs before Israelis go to the polls in Umm al-Fahm, Israel, on May 17, 1977 in the country's national elections.
Shimon Peres speaking in the Druze village of Daliyat al-Karmel in Israel on May 10, 1977.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: Francois LOCHON/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Shimon Peres speaking in the Druze village of Daliyat al-Karmel in Israel on May 10, 1977.
Israeli Labor Party leader Shimon Peres in Paris in 1981. He chaired the left-leaning party until 1992.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: GEORGES GOBET/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli Labor Party leader Shimon Peres in Paris in 1981. He chaired the left-leaning party until 1992.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, right, consults with Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 26, 1986, during a vote in the Israeli parliament, Knesset, about shipments of arms to Iran.
Photos: Peace warrior: The life of Israel's Shimon Peres
PHOTO: SVEN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, right, consults with Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 26, 1986, during a vote in the Israeli parliament, Knesset, about shipments of arms to Iran.