Background: Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) need a lifelong supply of external insulin and are advised to aim for near-normalization of blood glucose levels through intensive insulin therapy. We propose a new approach for achieving treatment goals in T1D: the combined use of insulin and glucagon, i.e. dual-hormone treatment.Only recently the prospect of treating patients with soluble glucagon has arisen and thus studies of low dose glucagon treatment of mild hypoglycemia are needed to determine whether there is clinical rationale for dual-hormone treatment of T1D.