• The proportion of patients that will need 5 injections (loading phase excluded) or less with ranibizumab [ Time Frame: 1 year ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

• Proportion of patients losing less than 15 letters on the ETDRS visual acuity chart [ Time Frame: 1 year ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• Proportion of patients gaining more than 15 letters on the ETDRS visual acuity chart [ Time Frame: 1 year ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is caused by an ingrowth of pathological vessels under the macula. Experimental studies have demonstrated that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is centrally involved in this process. For this reason, anti-VEGF drugs, in particular ranibizumab, as become the treatment of choice for neovascular AMD. Ranibizumab use is limited by its high cost. Also, ranibizumab requires repeated (sometimes up to monthly) intravitreal injections for many years. Strategies to reduce the burden of this treatment on the patient as well as on the health care system will be critical. Combination therapy is an attractive such possibility. Transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) is a technique by which vascular occlusion can be induced by delivering radiation at near infrared intensity to the target tissue through the pupil. Several reports have indicated that TTT may be used to slow disease progression in patients with neovascular AMD. In this study we examine whether combined ranibizumab and TTT will reduce the number of ranibizumab injections compared with ranibizumab alone (sham TTT). The study will go on for 2 years with an interim report after 1 year.