Eric Dane, known for his roles on Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria, died less than a year after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The California-born actor, 53 years old, was diagnosed in 2025 with ALS and spent the last few months raising awareness for the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND). “With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” reads a statement from his family.

Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS is a rare degenerative condition that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. It targets the nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord, affecting your muscle control. Doctors say symptoms worsen over time.

You might notice muscle weakness and muscle twitching that affect your ability to walk independently, reach for objects, chew food, and talk. ALS eventually causes your muscles to waste away, leading to atrophy, which makes it harder to breathe and may lead to life-threatening outcomes. TheCleveland Clinicsays there is no cure, but treatments are available to slow the progression of the disease and improve your quality of life.

While it is not known what causes ALS, there is a combination of factors that may be causing the condition, which include:

About 70 per cent of familial cases and 5 to 10 per cent of sporadic cases involve gene changes. They’re most often in the C9orf72, SOD1, TARDBP, and FUS genes. There are more than 40 related genes.

Exposure to toxins like lead or mercury, along with viruses or trauma, may also play a role.

Since the disease targets motor neurons, which regulate your voluntary movements, such as talking, chewing, moving your limbs, and breathing. Your neurons communicate with your muscles to tell them to move. ALS disrupts communication, like bad phone reception. The messages sent from neurons to muscles break up and don’t get through clearly. This eventually causes the call to end. A few risk factors include:

You may develop symptoms between the ages of 55 and 75.

White people are most likely to get ALS.

For cases that occur before age 55, men are at higher risk.

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