Just a little over a week since Steve Jobs calmed us all down with his reassurance that the rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated, it looks like the Apple mogul's condition may have taken a turn for the worse.

People had been speculating about his declining health for so long that Jobs was forced to address the issue, explaining that he had a hormone imbalance that had caused him substantial weight loss, but that with hormone treatment and some weight gain he'd be back on track shortly.

This afternoon Jobs sent out a letter to his employees, letting them know that he'll be taking a medical leave for the first half of this year. It's not clear just what's changed with his condition, but suffice it to say that it's more complicated than Jobs initially thought. He's decided not to hang around and let the company get bogged down with more rumors concerning his health, now wanting to recover in private before returning to work. Jobs will still be involved in company decision-making and is handing off his daily responsibilities to COO Tim Cook.

We all hope Steve makes a speedy, complete recovery and gets back to bringing us some hot new gadgets.

UPDATE: The latest Jobs health news doesn't sound very promising. Steve underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer several years back, and now some doctors believe he's considering a liver transplant. If the tumor wasn't totally removed from his pancreas, there's a chance that it could have spread to his liver. Fear of the cancer returning has been a major topic in discussions of Jobs' declining physical appearance. Jobs didn't comment on this latest rumor, asking the press, "why don't you guys leave me alone?".

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