Milan - Doctors said yesterday the condition of hunger-striking Italian politician Ms Emma Bonino was deteriorating and a spokesman said she would call off her five-day-old protest if her health was seriously threatened.
Ms Bonino's spokesman, Mr Pietro Petruccio, said the former EU Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner and leader of Italy's small Radical party had no intention of committing suicide.
Doctors at a Milan hospital said in a report her heartbeat was irregular and her brain was showing effects of her hunger strike which she began last Friday over lack of media coverage given to her party.
Medical sources said if Ms Bonino (53) lost another litre of water - a state she could reach in about 12 hours - her body could go into shock, causing irreversible damage.