Eric Dane’s death sparks discussion of ALS and disease awareness across the country

Eric Dane’s death has sparked discussions about the speed and severity of ALS.

Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, the progressive disease – officially known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – is debilitating and fatal.

Although only about 5,000 people in the US are diagnosed each year, the average life expectancy is just two to five years, according to the ALS Association.

Dane, who became famous as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” announced his diagnosis in April 2025, telling “Good Morning America” ​​in June that his first symptoms began as “some weakness” in his right hand.

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“I didn’t think anything of it,” said the actor. “At the time, I thought maybe I was texting too much, or my hand was tired. But a few weeks later, I realized it got worse.”

“I fight as hard as I can,” Dane added. “There’s so much I can’t know.”

What is ALS?

ALS is a progressive disease in which the brain loses communication with the muscles, according to the ALS Association. This slowly robs a person of their ability to walk, talk, eat, dress, write, speak, swallow and, eventually, breathe.

Early symptoms include muscle weakness, stiffness and tightness. The progression and severity of symptoms is different in each case, as the organization notes that “there is no single timeline for ALS.”

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This disease affects only the motor neurons that control voluntary movements, so the five senses – sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell – are not affected, and the eye muscles or bladder control.

Symptoms of ALS usually begin with muscle weakness in the upper extremities. (Stock)

Most ALS patients remain “mentally alert and aware” throughout the disease, reports the ALS Association.

Diagnosis usually occurs in people between the ages of 40 and 70. About 20 percent of patients live five years or more. Only about 5% live more than 20 years.

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ALS is usually diagnosed by a neurologist with an electromyography (EMG) test, but it can also be diagnosed with blood and urine tests, spinal taps, MRIs and other imaging scans, muscle and nerve, or neurological tests.

There is currently no cure or treatment to stop the progression of the disease, although there are treatments to reduce and relieve symptoms, according to the ALS Association.

ALS can be diagnosed by a neurologist using a variety of tests. (Stock)

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joined “Fox & Friends” on Friday to discuss the spread of ALS, suggesting that cases have increased because of “something somewhere that we don’t know yet.”

Although ALS is 10% genetic, according to Siegel, 90% of cases have no genetic link, pointing to other risk factors such as environmental toxins.

“We are learning to personalize the way we deal with this disease.”

“It is a disease of muscle weakness – which affects the nerves without a defect – and it usually starts on one side,” said the doctor. “Then you’d start to get tired … You’d see your tongue shaking or your arm shaking, usually one side and then the other.”

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As the weakness progresses, it affects speech and eventually attacks the diaphragm, making it difficult to fully inflate the lungs.

“That’s what happened [Dane]almost too much,” Siegel said.

A growing research

ALS progresses “very quickly in most cases,” Siegel said. While scientist Stephen Hawking lived 55 years with the disease, Dane “had about two years to live with it,” the doctor concluded.

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“I want to show you how brave you are [Dane] it’s — he was actually involved with Target ALS, where he was fighting for new research,” Siegel said. “We’re learning to personalize the way we deal with this disease, and that’s the future — and he fought for that.”

Actor Eric Dane was photographed in St. Regis in Washington, DC, on September 30, 2025. “I want to show how brave you are [Dane],” said Dr. Marc Siegel. (Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“We need a lot of money to do research on this – [Dane] he was asking the government for billions of dollars.”

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Various research groups and hospital programs are actively working on new ALS treatments that take a personalized approach, Siegel shared.

The estimated cost of developing a drug that can slow or stop disease progression is $2 billion, reports the ALS Association. The estimated annual out-of-pocket cost of care is $250,000.

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Funding for ALS research and awareness has been growing for years, with the social media ALS Ice Bucket Challenge gaining traction in 2014.

The challenge, supported by the ALS Association, was aimed at raising awareness. It ultimately raised $115 million for ALS research and patient care.