Dental X-rays linked to brain tumors; fish oil fails a test - USA TODAY

Your Tuesday morning health roundup:

• Dental X-rays and brain tumors: Getting frequent dental X-rays might significantly raise your risk of a non-cancerous brain tumor, new research suggests. The association might seem scary, but it's no reason to stop going to the dentist, experts say. Instead, you should talk to your dentist about limiting routine X-rays -- which the American Dental Association recommends just once every two to three years for healthy adults and more often for children. Also important to note: X-ray radiation doses have fallen over time.
• Fish oil and hearts: Fish oil pills, which contain omega-3 fatty acids, might do less good for your heart than doctors have hoped. A new study of more than 20,000 people with heart disease found that those who took fish oil pills were just as likely to die from a heart attack, have a stroke or develop congestive heart failure as those who took placebos. Previous studies have shown mixed results. The study did not look at eating actual fish -- and experts say there is no down side to doing that and many possible benefits.
• Colon cancer screening: Colon cancer screening is not particularly popular, but giving patients a choice other than colonoscopy can increase the numbers who follow through on these tests, a new study shows. In the study, doctors either ordered a test (a colonoscopy or stool sample) or gave patients a choice. The highest screening rate (69%) was in the choice group, where more than half chose the stool test (which must be repeated every year) over the colonoscopy (recommended every 10 years for most people over age 50). When offered just one test, people were much more likely to follow through on a stool test (67%) than a colonoscopy (38%).

Today's talker: What happens in Vegas? Besides gambling, there's a lot of drinking, and, of course, hangovers. An entrepreneurial doctor has figured out a way to cater to this miserable market with a business called Hangover Heaven -- a service that picks up the walking wounded (or, starting soon, comes to their hotel rooms) to rehydrate them with IVs and dose them with anti-nausea medicine. A basic package, called Redemption, starts at $130.