Eric Dane diagnosed with ALS

A link is always needed.

Fuck.

Damn. That really sucks for him.

I remember a thread here that said cases of ALS and similar was going to go up because of all the prion disease

his ass was so tasty back in the day, 88-94!

Awful

You never get better with that diagnosis. Unfortunately, it's a pretty steep slope downward.

Geez - ALS is a brutal way to go.

Lou Gehrig died two years after his diagnosis.

Wasn't there a soap actor who died of ALS?

I’ve lost a couple of family members from ALS. It’s truly the most heartbreaking thing to see their health decline and you can do absolutely nothing about it.

I wonder if it's his previous cocaine use that triggered this. That was my first thought. No judgement, I've done a shitload of drugs in my life.

R9 Guiding Light’s Roger Thorpe.

How did Stephen Hawking live decades with it?

Poor guy. I'm glad he is surrounded by the love of his family. I honestly believe the love of family and friends gets us through shit like this, even if the prognosis is shitty.

I thought he and Rebecca Gayheart were divorced. Truly a horrific way to go, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. Well, maybe one person we all know.

[quote] The average life expectancy after diagnosis is two to five years, but some patients may live for years or even decades. Approximately 50% of people diagnosed with ALS live at least three or more years after receiving their diagnosis.

ALS is brutal and heartbreaking. A close friend was diagnosed in 2020 and now she's wheelchair bound, uses a communication device, and is on a ventilator via trach. She went on the ventilator back in November. Since January, I have been spending a couple of nights a week at her house to help out her husband with chores and help out with their kids. I've gotten used to her using a communications device, but I occasionally I miss hearing her voice.

I had a friend from h.s. who was diagnosed with it last June and who then was dead by the end of January.

R11 ALS isn't caused by drugs. It's bad luck. My sister got it at 50 and died 2 years later. When she was 20 she contracted Guillain-Barre syndrome, another autoimmune disorder causing paralysis, which in most cases is not permanent. She didn't do anything to 'deserve' either horrific conditions. Apparently ten per cent of cases have a genetic component but there was no history of it in our family.

Omg no. Absolutely awful.

He was so good in Euphoria.

This is terrible news.

I too am dreading what my cocaine use uas wrought

52 is a baby

ALS is the worst disease ever. There's no cure and no hope. I hope his family will take care of him.

Oh, Noooooo?

I have always liked him, though I never could make myself watch Grey's. But he was my favorite of the dozens of Phoebe's bfs on Charmed, and he was PHENOMENAL as lead in the criminally underappreciated (and still missed by me) [italic]The Last Ship.[/italic]

This makes me so sad.

[quote] he was PHENOMENAL as lead in the criminally underappreciated (and still missed by me) The Last Ship.

I miss that show. A week ago, I was browsing through the MAX library and saw it on there. I'll probably do a rewatch of it in the next couple of months.

R12, Some speculate that he had an unusual from of ALS. But also, people who are diagnosed young tend to live longer, and he had top-notch medical care.

I’d still let him drive me around before letting his wife take the wheel.

That sucks

The timing. I assume they remained friends

[QUOTE]In February 2018, Gayheart filed for divorce from Dane after 14 years of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences".[20] But on March 7th, 2025, she reportedly filed to request a dismissal of the divorce petition against Dane after 7 years of separation.[21]

He has always been such a gorgeous man.

ALS is awful--your body rapidly fails but your mind stays sharp.

This is terrible news. I wouldn't wish ALS on anyone except, as someone upthread wrote, one specific person. I knew Kim Shattuck, lead singer of The Muffs, for several years, through the music industry. I enjoyed a glorious rooftop brunch with her at Petit Hermitage in the spring of 2017. Kim was hilarious, loud yet down to earth, as usual. She was breezily discussing the ongoing renovations of her house in Glendale. Her new album. Gushing about her love for her dog and her husband and best friend, Kevin. She was diagnosed with ASL in August. Her dad had died from it, too, and Kim had been involved with fundraising for ASL for some time. I had up to then not realized that women could get the disease. Seeing as I was living on the east coast at the time, I was not around locally to support her during her decline. The details that were passed on to me broke my heart. It feels so senseless that these kids of diseases exist. What purpose does a disease like ASL serve? It's so horrible that one's happy, creative, fulfilling life could zig instead of zag and suddenly, you're dying of something that can only be described as a living nightmare. Suffice it to say that everyone was heartbroken, yet relieved, when she passed.

*kinds of disease (although Kids Of Disease would have been a great title for a Muff track!)

I think this disease ranks up with Alzheimer’s in terms of its devastating effects and urgent need for a cure. I am wondering if there will be new breakthroughs soon with Stemcell technology, crispr technology, etc.

ALS is awful.

I'll always remember Eric like this. Well, ok, sans towel.

Seriously though, sorry to learn of Eric's diagnosis. Fuck ALS, it's a horrible, cruel disease.

R21, what a stupid thing to say. No research suggests drug abuse/use is a key risk factor.

I think the ALS/drug use theory has been spun off from research/studies that have shown some cases of Parkinson's being linked to drug use.

ALS, MS, Parkinsons—the trifecta of suffering.

He had a hot ass and now it looks like he definitely won’t live forever.

Damn. This is sad.

I had many a good wank watching him on the Last Ship series.

My mom died from it in 2012. If I ever get diagnosed I will just off myself before it gets worse.

This is so sad! I had the biggest crush on him when he was on Grey’s Anatomy. Like others have said I wouldn’t wish ALS on my worst enemy…except one.

I really hope there’s a cure soon. If I ever get it, I’m taking myself out.

I know a couple people who had ALS. I always thought it would be the worst disease to get.

Thinking about ALS and how I sure hope I don't get it, I looked up risk factors. Basically the evidence is sketchy but a few 'lifestyle' factors have been identified as areas of concern. The first is military service. Young soldiers in the Gulf War are twice as likely to suffer ALS. Thanks again war criminal George W. Bush!

Second is a head or spinal cord injury. Men in sports have a slightly higher incidence, and maybe that's why more men than women get ALS. Then I read Eric Dane's bio:

In June 2011, Dane entered a California treatment center to recover from a dependency on prescription drugs he had developed after suffering a sports injury.[23]

R31 You're killing me, I'm reading your post and thinking American Sign Language. It's ALS.

Maybe Kari Ann Peniche can come back for one last nude hang out before he declines too much. Jesus, I'm 52 also and have done my share of recreational coke...and heroin. I hope that really isn't a risk factor.

[quote] Geez - ALS is a brutal way to go.

Which is why euthanasia should be legal everywhere.

[quote] Second is a head or spinal cord injury. Men in sports have a slightly higher incidence, and maybe that's why more men than women get ALS. Then I read Eric Dane's bio:

I posted upthread about having a female friend with ALS. When my friend was diagnosed, one of her neurologists did ask her about if she had a history of playing sports and what sports she played. My friend was in basketball, softball, track, and cross country. The neuro asked if she ever had any head injuries/concussions from collisions in basketball or was ever hit in the head without protection in softball. She never had head injuries in sports. Her neuro said that with newly diagnosed ALS patients, he always asks them if they ever had any head injuries from sports or if they ever played heavy contact sports. My friend grew up in Michigan, and she had female friends who played youth hockey and she now has some worries about those friends.

[quote] I'm 52 also and have done my share of recreational coke...and heroin. I hope that really isn't a risk factor.

Once again, IT ISN'T.

Crazy article on ALS outbreak in the Alps- Recommended

It’s obviously from vaccines, R48. I will find out by September!

R48 Thanks for posting that, very compelling.

R50- You are welcome.. There is definitely some mushroom connection with those folks. (Or some chemical within them) That article floored me and I am surprised its not talked about.

[Quote] Lou Gehrig died two years after his diagnosis.

Lou Gehrig didn’t have that, dummy. He had Lou Gehrig’s Disease! Which is actually an amazing coincidence.

Are there any new treatments for it on the horizon?

I remember my parents foraging for morel mushrooms back in the 80s. The came home with some, sauteed them in butter, and ate them. They were very very ill afterward. I wonder if they got false morels. My dad (age 85) now has Parkinsons. He also grew up on a farm, so we have long suspected pesticides might be responsible for his Parkinsons, but the article at R48 has got me thinking. (Yes, I am very aware that ALS and Parkinsons are not the same disease, but they are both neurological and have suspected environmental causes).

On the plus side, I remember being so terrified that my parents were going to die, because they were so ill, that I have never been able to eat mushrooms of any kind and the smell of sauteeing mushroom instantly makes me feel nauseous. No false morel poisoning for me!

Mushrooms taste like they shouldn’t be eaten. We were warned

Isn't Huntington's Disease the worst of them all?

A trauma to the cranium or a concussion sometimes triggers a chain of neurological problems that don't materialize until years later.

Wow, the mushroom connection has made it to the Daily Mail!

An interview about his ALS

One of the nicest guys I ever met lasted about a year from diagnosis. Thankfully, he was able to get some lifetime bucket list items accomplished relatively quickly.

R59 I watched that interview this morning. It had me welling up.

ALS is absolutely horrifying.

This disease defines [bold]cruel[/bold], R61.

My Uncle died from it after several years. This guy survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but ALS was too much for him to survive. My Aunt took care of him at home from the start to the end. It was bad enough for her to see the man she adored waste away, but he unintentionally made it even worse by always answering her innocent question: "Is there anything else I can get you?" with the reply of "Yes...a gun."

[quote]I thought he and Rebecca Gayheart were divorced.

They were separated for several years but she recently called off the divorce suddenly, then the news of his diagnosis broke. Either she's going to play caretaker or they want to insure smooth transition of his estate and money once he's gone, to her and their kids.

R64 In the interview R59 posted, he says that although they're no longer married, Rebecca is his "rock" and he turns to her when he needs support.

ALS is one of those things in life that makes me not believe in God. Such a cruel, horrible thing for people and their families to endure.

R16 that is lovely of you to help out the family.

R66 In the interview, he talks about how he slowly felt the loss of the use of his right arm and how now he's starting to feel it happening on the left. That must be the most horrible thing to go through. He said he gets angry about it knowing it's out of his control.

Interesting article about an ALS cluster, and how some doctors are starting to consider environmental influences.

R59 That interview is heartbreaking to watch.

Curse ALS and curse the interminably slow Sam Levinson.

I'm glad we have medically assisted death here in Canada. My sister has Parkinson's and though I hope she opts for that option, she's always been such a martyr I wouldn't be surprised if she stubbornly waits out all the suffering. It's comforting to know we don't have to go through a living hell at the end of our lives.

ALS seems to be more prevalent lately. A former coworker recently died from it and one of my second cousins died from it about 20 years ago about 18 months after being diagnosed.

I seem to recall there was a pro football team where about 15 years later an inordinate number of players got ALS. I don't think they ever did settle on a cause.

R59. The 'Good Morning America' interview with Eric Dane and Diane Sawyer was stark, sobering and heartbreaking. Mr. Dane is anguished knowing what's on the horizon as his body eventually and inevitably shuts down. It was difficult to watch and listen to him as his voice has become almost lifeless and emotionless--not by the illness but by the unfathomable sadness.

I was very surprised that, according to Diane Sawyer in the interview, only 5000 people develop ALS per year. That number seems incredibly low.