Washington: Skin tests can be used to detect elevated levels of abnormal proteins found in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, a new research has found.

"Until now, pathological confirmation was not possible without a brain biopsy, so these diseases often go unrecognised until after the disease has progressed," said study author Ildefonso Rodriguez-Leyva from the University of San Luis Potosi in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.