The fatal nature of ALS: What to know about the disease after Eric Dane’s diagnosis
March 18, 2026Categories: Blog Posts
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is one of the most devastating neurological diseases, gradually robbing individuals of their ability to move, speak and, eventually, breathe. Although the condition is rare, recent news about Grey’s Anatomy actor Eric Dane’s diagnosis and death is shining a spotlight on the illness and raising important questions.
What exactly is ALS? What symptoms does it cause? And why is it always fatal?
Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS impacts nerve function by targeting motor neurons—specialized cells that control voluntary and involuntary movement—in the brain and spine.
“Those motor neurons—those cells in the brain and spinal cord—start to die,” says Krikor Tufenkjian, MD, a neurologist with Global Neurosciences Institute at St. Mary Medical Center. “People develop gradual and progressive weakness that can happen anywhere in the body. It could be something that starts in the hand, in the leg, the muscles that control swallowing, talking and even breathing.”
Weakness in one hand or leg is often an early—and brushed off—symptom of ALS. Dane recalled feeling weakness in his right hand around early 2024, yet he assumed he had simply been texting too much. This weakness involves a decrease in muscle power and strength, making it difficult to have a firm grip.
ALS is a fast-progressing, 100 percent fatal disease, with most people living only three to five years after their diagnosis. This is because, at a certain point, the weakness almost always spreads beyond the limbs to muscles that control breathing and swallowing.
“If someone cannot breathe, that’s self-explanatory. But then the swallowing difficulties put people at risk for pneumonia, aspiration, infections,” says Dr. Tufenkjian. “If the muscles that control breathing are weakened faster, the lifespan shortens. But if the weakness stays primarily in the arms and legs, the life expectancy is longer.”
ALS is a fast-progressing, 100 percent fatal disease, with most people living only three to five years after their diagnosis. This is because, at a certain point, the weakness almost always spreads beyond the limbs to muscles that control breathing and swallowing.
In Dane’s case, the disease progressed faster than average. By June 2025, his entire right side was completely unfunctional, and he could already feel the weakness beginning on his left side—though he continued to appear on screen, even portraying a character with ALS in Brilliant Minds. That September, he shared a video on social media that showed the disease was affecting his ability to talk. In February 2026, ALS caught up to his breathing muscles, with Dane dying from respiratory failure at the age of 53.
Before his untimely passing, Dane raised awareness about the devastating nature of ALS, which currently has no cure. Even a specific test to diagnose ALS has yet to be created due to the “random” nature of the disease, which continues to be studied. Testing typically involves ruling out other conditions that present similar symptoms. Often, explains Dr. Tufenkjian, the final diagnosis isn’t ALS, which affects approximately 4-6 out of 100,000 people, according to the ALS Association. Instead, many patients will be diagnosed with conditions such as benign fasciculation syndrome, myasthenia gravis, peripheral nerve entrapment, radiculopathy or spinal stenosis with myelopathy.
“I don’t want people to be too anxious. Keep things in perspective. ALS remains relatively rare. Reflecting on patients I’ve seen over the years, I’ve had more cases where people worry about ALS and it turns out not to be the case as opposed to the other way around,” says Dr. Tufenkjian. “I understand that a celebrity death will create a lot of anxiety, and some of that is justified. But at the same time, I don’t want people to be alarmed and Google common symptoms that usually aren’t ALS.”