Martijn Brouwers

Professor

Dr Martijn Brouwers obtained his MD degree (with honours) in 2002, after which he started his PhD project that focused on hepatic steatosis in familial combined hyperlipidemia. In 2006, he worked as a trainee at the Department of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology. Since 2012, he has been a staff member (internist-endocrinologist) at Maastricht UMC+ and in 2019 he was appointed as the head of the division of Endocrinology and Metabolic Disease.

His research focusses on the cardiometabolic consequences of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD consists of a histological spectrum comprising simple steatosis, steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis and cirrhosis. Evidence is accumulating that NAFLD is not only a liver disease per se, it is also a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. This research line aims to elucidate the exact mechanistic link between NAFLD and these systemic diseases. For this, a diverse set of studies is used, ranging from (genetic) epidemiology, to ‘human knockout’ models, to randomised controlled trials and experimental animal work. This research is in part funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation, the Dutch Diabetes Foundation and the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes.

Department ofInternal Medicine
P. Debeyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht 
PO Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht
T: +31(0)43 388 70 19

  • 2024
    • van Hulten, V., Souverein, P. C., Starup-Linde, J., Viggers, R., Klungel, O. H., Vestergaard, P., Brouwers, M. C. J. G., van den Bergh, J. P., & Driessen, J. H. M. (2024). The association of type 2 diabetes-related characteristics with fracture risk at different sites. Diabetes Obesity & Metabolism. https://doi.org/10.1111/dom.15884
    • Buziau, A. M., Oosterveer, M. H., Wouters, K., Bos, T., Tolan, D. R., Agius, L., Ford, B. E., Cassiman, D., Stehouwer, C. D. A., Schalkwijk, C. G., & Brouwers, M. C. G. J. (2024). Hepatic glucokinase regulatory protein and carbohydrate response element binding protein attenuation reduce de novo lipogenesis but do not mitigate intrahepatic triglyceride accumulation in ALDOB deficiency. Molecular Metabolism, 87, Article 101984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2024.101984
    • Stangl, T. A., Wiepjes, C. M., Smit, R. A. J., van Hylckama Vlieg, A., Lamb, H. J., van der Velde, J. H. P. M., Winters van Eekelen, E., Boone, S. C., Brouwers, M. C. G. J., Rosendaal, F. R., den Heijer, M., Heijboer, A. C., & de Mutsert, R. (2024). The association between low sex hormone binding globulin and increased risk of type 2 diabetes is mediated by increased visceral and liver fat: results from observational and Mendelian randomization analyses. Diabetes. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.2337/db23-0982
    • Brouwers, M. C., & Cassiman, D. (2024). Rare monogenic causes of steatotic liver disease masquerading as MASLD. Journal of Hepatology, 80(6), e252-e253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2024.02.025
    • Ren, Z., Wesselius, A., Stehouwer, C. D. A., & Brouwers, M. C. G. J. (2024). Relationship between educational attainment and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Digestive and liver disease : official journal of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology and the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver, 56(4), 565-570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dld.2023.11.040
    • Panis, B., Vos, E. N., Baric, I., Bosch, A. M., Brouwers, M. C. G. J., Burlina, A., Cassiman, D., Coman, D. J., Couce, M. L., Das, A. M., Demirbas, D., Empain, A., Gautschi, M., Grafakou, O., Grunewald, S., Kingma, S. D. K., Knerr, I., Leão-Teles, E., Möslinger, D., ... Rubio-Gozalbo, M. E. (2024). Brain function in classic galactosemia, a galactosemia network (GalNet) members review. Frontiers in Genetics, 15, Article 1355962. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2024.1355962
    • Chen, H., Buziau, A. M., Renteria, M. E., Simons, P. I. H. G., & Brouwers, M. C. G. J. (2024). Fructose intake from sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a greater risk of hyperandrogenism in women: UK Biobank cohort study. European Journal of Endocrinology, 190(1), 104-112. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvae006
  • 2023
    • Janssen, L. E. F., Cassiman, D., & Brouwers, M. C. G. J. (2023). Quality of life of adult patients with hereditary fructose intolerance. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, 140(3), Article 107701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2023.107701
    • Ren, Z., Bosma, H., Wesselius, A., Eussen, S. J. P. M., Kooi, M. E., van der Kallen, C. J. H., Koster, A., van Greevenbroek, M. M. J., Dagnelie, P., Stehouwer, C. D. A., & Brouwers, M. C. G. J. (2023). Traditional lifestyle factors partly mediate the association of socioeconomic position with intrahepatic lipid content: The Maastricht study. JHEP Reports, 5(11), Article 100855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhepr.2023.100855
    • Ren, Z., Wesselius, A., Stehouwer, C. D. A., & Brouwers, M. C. G. J. (2023). Cardiovascular Implications of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease. Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America, 52(3), 459-468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecl.2023.01.002