In the case of Microsoft, set up in 1975, the surprising thing is that the union between the two men lasted as long as it did giventhetension that already underlay their friendship.
In the BBC interview, Mr McBride said his "McPoison" nickname was "inevitable" given his role working for Mr Brown at the height of the"tension" between the then chancellor and former PM Tony Blair.
"We would expect that to lead to more people getting acupuncture, but given there is good evidence to show this is effective for the prevention of both tension-type and migraine-type headaches then that is a good thing because people are getting access to an effective treatment, " Prof Martin Underwood said.