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IEMbase 0220: PDHA1-related Pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha deficiency

Scope

Field Value
IEMbase ID 220
Nosology 5.1.01.01
Gene PDHA1
External IDs OMIM:312170
Generated mapping MAPPED; Pyruvate_Dehydrogenase_Deficiency.yaml
Candidate DisMech targets Pyruvate_Dehydrogenase_Deficiency.yaml#E1-alpha deficiency
Review date 2026-07-07

IEMbase phenotype signal

IEMbase represents this as PDHA1-related pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha deficiency, with alternate label PDH. The record is X-linked and treatability is marked yes.

The biochemical rows include increased alanine, lactate, lactate/pyruvate ratio, pyruvate, and ketones, with normal glucose. Characteristic clinical rows include corpus-callosum agenesis on MRI, dysmorphic features, failure to thrive, lactic acidosis, and microcephaly. Additional rows include developmental delay, drug-resistant epilepsy, hypotonia, Leigh syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, pyramidal signs, seizures, and multiple craniofacial features. Treatments listed by IEMbase are ketogenic diet and thiamine.

DisMech phenotype coverage

Pyruvate_Dehydrogenase_Deficiency.yaml is the correct target, with subtype resolution to E1-alpha deficiency. The local entry covers PDHA1 as the most common PDH deficiency gene, X-linked inheritance, reduced PDH complex activity, blocked pyruvate decarboxylation to acetyl-CoA, lactate and pyruvate accumulation, lactic acidosis, neurodevelopmental injury, hypotonia, seizures, movement disorders, corpus-callosum abnormalities, microcephaly, dysmorphic features, ketogenic diet, thiamine-responsive PDHA1 residual activity, dichloroacetate, phenylbutyrate, biochemical testing, enzyme assay, molecular testing, and brain MRI.

Concordance and completeness

Judgement: correct mapped target, with subtype resolution needed.

IEMbase and DisMech agree on PDHA1/E1-alpha identity, X-linked inheritance, the PDH biochemical block, lactate/pyruvate abnormalities, lactic acidosis, developmental delay, hypotonia, seizures/epilepsy, Leigh-spectrum CNS disease, corpus-callosum involvement, microcephaly, dysmorphism, ketogenic diet, and thiamine. IEMbase adds more granular craniofacial descriptors and flags drug-resistant epilepsy; DisMech is richer for mechanism, therapy nuance, and diagnostic workflow.

Curation actions

  • Keep the record mapped to Pyruvate_Dehydrogenase_Deficiency.yaml.
  • Prefer subtype resolution to Pyruvate_Dehydrogenase_Deficiency.yaml#E1-alpha deficiency.
  • Consider reviewing IEMbase's granular facial-feature and drug-resistant epilepsy rows if the PDHA1 subtype is later enriched.