Abstract: Newly-created fluorenone drugs can be used to prevent, treat, or otherwise reduce damage to a brain or spinal cord following a medical crisis. These new drugs are markedly improved analogs of previously-known fluorenone compounds that were never commercialized or developed into medically useful treatments. The new analogs have the following structure: where X is a lower alkyl, substituted alkyl, or cycloalkyl group, R is selected from certain types of ether, ester, or amide groups, and Y1 and Y2 are halogen, hydrogen, or methyl. These new compounds can penetrate a blood-brain barrier and potently inhibit the unwanted release of excitotoxic neurotransmitters by astrocyte cells following an injury or insult to the brain or spinal cord. As an illustration, some of these new analogs were more than 30 times more potent than the previously known best compound in reducing aspartate release by stressed astrocytes.