did YK-11 cause the published liver injury case?

updated

the human case is serious and cannot identify one culprit because several SARMs were reported together.

verdict: serious mixed-exposure signal, single-compound causality unresolved (case-level warning / attribution limited)

quick answer

the published cholestatic liver-injury case involved YK-11, LGD-4033, and RAD-140 together. It supports a strong warning about the exposure pattern but cannot assign causality or an incidence rate to YK-11 alone.

the evidence

the case belongs in the safety record. (supported)

A clinically significant cholestatic liver injury occurred in the setting of a multi-SARM exposure that included YK-11.

the case cannot identify one cause. (gap)

Several compounds were reported together. No rechallenge, controlled comparison, or YK-11-only human trial closes attribution.

the wider record adds uncertainty, not a safety margin. (risk)

Mouse-cell and animal studies report androgen-receptor, inflammatory, oxidative-stress, and mitochondrial effects. Human metabolism and doping records show exposure or detection, while no measured parent half-life or controlled human safety study exists.

bottom line

uncertain attribution is not evidence of safety.

scores

  • controlled human safety trials: 0 · none located
  • case signal: 58 · serious outcome with mixed exposure
  • single-compound attribution: 14 · several SARMs involved
  • safety uncertainty: 96 · PK and incidence both unknown

sources

  1. Kanno Y et al. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 2013. PMID 23995658. C2C12 mouse-myoblast androgen-receptor and follistatin study.
  2. Dahleh MMM et al. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 2023. PMID 37468001. Rat hippocampal oxidative-stress and mitochondrial-dysfunction report.
  3. Military Medicine case report, multi-SARM cholestatic liver injury. PMID 35253885. Human case involving YK-11, LGD-4033, and RAD-140 together.
  4. CAERS pharmacovigilance analysis of selective androgen receptor modulators. 2024. Spontaneous-report analysis that includes YK-11 reports.
  5. FDA warning letter to Titan SARMS LLC. December 12, 2025. FDA identifies YK-11 capsules marketed with muscle and myostatin claims as unapproved new drugs.
  6. Piper T et al. Drug Testing and Analysis. 2018. PMID 30379415. Human elimination experiment with six-fold deuterated YK-11.
  7. Sobolevsky T et al. Drug Testing and Analysis. 2024. PMID 37946705. Detection of YK-11 in a human doping-control sample.
  8. ClinicalTrials.gov API exact YK-11 intervention and title query. Checked August 12, 2026. The exact structured query returned zero studies.

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claim checks

reptides grades the research record and cites the literature behind every call. research reference only; not medical advice.