Patent ID: 8790637

Claim:
A method for treating damage to the optic nerve in a patient having glaucoma, the method comprising administering to the damaged optic nerve isolated umbilicus-cells isolated from human umbilical cord tissue substantially free of blood, in an amount effective to treat the damage, wherein the cells are capable of self-renewal and expansion in culture, have the potential to differentiate into cells of at least a neural phenotype, maintain a normal karyotype upon passaging, and have the following characteristics: a) potential for at least 40 population doublings in culture; b) production of CD10, CD13, CD44, CD73, and CD90; c) lack of production of CD31, CD34, CD45, CD117 and CD141, and d) increased expression of genes encoding interleukin 8 and reticulon 1 relative to a human cell that is a fibroblast, a mesenchymal stem cell, or an iliac crest bone marrow cell.