Actor Eric Dane, best known for his roles as Dr. Mark Sloan on “Grey’s Anatomy” and Cal Jacobs on the HBO series “Euphoria,” died Thursday afternoon after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), his representative confirmed. He was 53.
Dane’s death comes less than a year after he publicly revealed his diagnosis in April 2025 and approximately ten months after his final public appearance, a December 2025 panel discussion with the I AM ALS organization and Synapticure founders Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya. During that panel, Dane spoke candidly about living with the disease, describing it as “so horrible” and reflecting on the experience of portraying a firefighter with ALS in the series “Brilliant Minds.”
“I have no reason to be in a good spirit at any time, on any given day,” Dane said during the panel, as reported by Prime Timer. “I don’t think anybody would blame me if I went upstairs in my bedroom, crawled under the sheets, and spent the next two weeks crying, and I was a little bit pleasantly surprised when I realized that I wasn’t built like that.” He expressed encouragement at his ability to maintain a positive outlook despite the challenges of the disease.
Dane’s family released a statement confirming his passing, noting he died surrounded by friends, his wife Rebecca Gayheart, and their two daughters, Billie and Georgia. “He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always,” the statement read. “Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received.”
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis, and eventually, death. Approximately 6,000 people in France are affected by the disease, with an average life expectancy of three years after diagnosis, according to research published in the journal Science.
Recent research, also published in Science, has identified a key mechanism driving the most common genetic forms of ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The study pinpointed a specific site within the C9ORF72 gene, where repeated sequences lead to the production of toxic proteins that cause neuronal death. Researchers demonstrated that modifying this site genetically could halt the production of these proteins, effectively preventing the onset of the disease in laboratory settings.
The research team, led by Franck Martin at a research institute in Strasbourg, successfully identified the ribosome’s starting point for synthesizing these toxic proteins. By introducing a single-point mutation in this site within the C9ORF72 gene, they were able to completely stop the production of the harmful proteins. This was confirmed in cell cultures and in mouse models.
Further experiments involved correcting the C9ORF72 gene in motor neurons cultivated from ALS patients using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Modifying the ribosome’s starting site was sufficient to halt the production of toxic proteins and restore the neurons’ viability.
The Science study highlights the importance of this discovery, noting that ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases are often triggered by multiple factors, making treatment complex. Identifying the specific molecular mechanism initiating the disease, and pinpointing the cause of the most frequent genetic form of ALS (approximately 8% of cases), represents a significant step forward. The identified starting site for protein synthesis is now a potential therapeutic target for developing new treatments.
The research also has implications for frontotemporal dementia (FTD), as more than half of familial cases are also linked to the same repeated sequences in the C9ORF72 gene. The findings open new avenues for research into therapeutic interventions targeting the synthesis of neurotoxic proteins in both ALS and FTD patients.
Dane’s “Grey’s Anatomy” co-stars, including Patrick Dempsey, who played Dr. Derek Shepherd, have paid tribute to the actor. Dempsey described Dane as “a joy to operate with” and remembered him as a source of fun on set, according to the BBC.
