The measurement of norepinephrine (NE) kinetics has broadened our unde
rstanding of sympathetic nervous system activity involvement in energy
expenditure, blood pressure regulation and substrate utilization. Thi
s methodology, however, has several disadvantages that include adminis
tration of radioactivity to volunteers, its expense, and time consumin
g laboratory analyses. Thus, we developed an equation to predict plasm
a NE appearance rate (NEAP) derived from infusions of tritiated norepi
nephrine performed in 113 healthy men (18-78 yr.). The accuracy of the
equation was tested using cross-validation procedures. Age, fat mass,
plasma [NE], waist circumference, and body weight (BW) correlated sig
nificantly with plasma NE appearance rate. The resulting prediction eq
uation in the validation group was: NEAP = 0.00003148 BW [NE], with R-
2 = 0.76 and was successfully cross-validated. Using pooled data from
both groups the prediction equation was: NEAP (mu g/min) = 0.00003108
x [NE (pg/ml)] x [Body weight (kg)] with an R-2 = 0.70 and SEE = 0.096
mu g/min. The magnitude of error associated with this equation allows
for detection of age-associated, exercise-induced changes and blood p
ressure-related differences in plasma NE appearance rate published in
the literature. We provide an equation that offers a relatively simple
and accurate alternative to estimate plasma NE appearance from the me
asurement of arterialized plasma [NE] and body weight.