Cliff Notes – Eric Dane, 52, confirms diagnosis of disease that causes paralysis and has no cure
- Eric Dane has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that affects voluntary muscle movement and has no known cure.
- Despite his diagnosis, Dane is currently able to continue working and has requested privacy for himself and his family during this challenging time.
- ALS typically leads to progressive muscle weakness and has a limited life expectancy, with most patients living an average of three years post-diagnosis.
Eric Dane, 52, confirms diagnosis of disease that causes paralysis and ‘has no cure’
Eric Dane, who stars in Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria, has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Dane, 52, who shares two children Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 13, with wife Rebecca Gayheart, is able to continue working at this stage, though the rare neurodegenerative disease has no cure.
ALS – the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND) – affects parts of the nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement.
Over time, function is gradually lost. Muscles become weak and eventually nonfunctional, leading to disability and eventually death.
Those diagnosed with the nervous system disease usually have an average of three years to live. However, about 20% of people with ALS live five years, 10% survive 10 years and 5% live 20 years or longer, according to The ALS Association.
‘I have been diagnosed with ALS,’ Dane told People. ‘I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.’
‘I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to the set of Euphoria next week,’ he explained. ‘I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.’
ALS often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg, trouble swallowing or slurred speech, according to Mayo Clinic.
It’s estimated that MND affects around 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time, with six people receiving a diagnosis every day. There is a 1 in 300 risk of getting MND across a lifetime.
Treatments include medicines which help to ease symptoms, and a specific ALS medicine called riluzole, which can help slow down the progress of the disease.
About 1 in 10 people with MND have a family history of the condition. But if someone in your family has MND it does not necessarily mean you will also get it.
Other famous faces diagnosed with the disease include Stephen Hawking and rugby legend Doddie Weir, who died in 2022 aged 52 after years of raising awareness about the disease through his charity, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
Dane and 90210 star Rebecca married in 2004 in Las Vegas, but in 2018 she filed for divorce.
What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?
According to the NHS, ALS is the most common form of MND and accounts for about 60 to 70% of the total MND cases.
Men are more commonly affected than women. In this type of MND, both the upper motor neurones and lower motor neurones degenerate at the same time.
Symptoms and signs depend upon the area of the body where the muscles are affected first (e.g. arm or leg) and can include muscle wasting, weakness, stiffness, cramps and rippling of the muscles, known as fasciculations.
Over time, as ALS progresses, different areas of the body become involved. Involvement of the muscles controlling speech, swallowing and breathing can also occur.
However, they first sparked reconciliation rumours in 2023 when they were pictured holding hands in Mexico. In March 2025, Rebecca requested to dismiss her divorce from Dane and both signed the documents.
While attending a screening of The Carters: Hurts To Love You on Wednesday night, the actress, 53, gave E! News an update on their relationship.
‘We are best of friends. We are really close. We are great coparents,’ she said of Dane at the event.
‘We really figured out the formula to staying a family and I think our kids are benefiting greatly from it and we are as well,’ she added.
She also refused to see their seven-year split as a failure.
‘I think it’s important to not look at a relationship that ends as a failure. It’s just a season. It wasn’t a failure. It was a huge success,’ she said.
‘We were married for, I mean, we are still married, but together for 15 years and we had two beautiful kids so I think that’s a successful relationship, and that’s how we look at it,’ she said.